As part of the Ready4Trade Central Asia project funded by the European Union, ITC recently launched its e-commerce coaching for enterprises in Uzbekistan. 8 national coaches will work with 50 Uzbek businesses in handicraft, textile and garments sectors to help them launch and grow online sales.
The first training and coaching sessions for Module 1 are held in Tashkent, Bukhara, and Fergana in February and March and focus on market research and e-commerce strategy development. Training is conducted in small groups and in individual meetings (each trainer conducts small group training and then conducts at least three individual sessions with each beneficiary). Future sessions will cover digitization, content creation, online channels, payments and logistics, as well as digital marketing. National advisors will individually mentor the selected MSMEs, accompanying them through the different stages of the e- commerce journey. ITC will further implement several e-labs for specific support to the most advanced companies, amplifying the impact and enabling these companies to share best practices with beginners.
In Uzbekistan, the e-commerce component is implemented in partnership with the Association of e-commerce, the Association of Hunarmands, the IT Park and the Association of Exporters. ITC is also developing an E-commerce Strategy in Uzbekistan, working at the policy level with national stakeholders to improve the e-commerce framework.
With the project 'Ready4Trade Central Asia', the European Union (EU) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) are joining forces to contribute to the overall sustainable and inclusive economic development of Central Asia by boosting intra-regional and international trade in the region. Beneficiaries of the Ready4Trade Central Asia project include governments, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), in particular women led enterprises, and Business Support Organizations (BSOs). The project operates in 5 countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
