UCA Empowers Local Women Through Micro-Entrepreneurship Training

UCA’s School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPCE) celebrated the achievements of 35 female learners who successfully completed the Women Micro-Entrepreneurs (WME) programme at a special event held in Khorog, Tajikistan. The programme was implemented by SPCE with support from the United States Agency for International Development and the Aga Khan Foundation.

SPCE aims to foster a self-governed network of women micro-entrepreneurs to facilitate knowledge-sharing and mutual support. It also seeks to enhance technical and soft skills through accessible training, support collective efforts to achieve shared goals, and attract additional investment to enable sustainable business growth. To date, 1700 female learners have benefitted from SPCE’s women entrepreneurship programme in Tajikistan.

WME offered specialised training to women micro-entrepreneurs, including artisans and bakers, equipping them with technical skills in baking, cooking, cutting, and sewing. Additionally, the programme provided foundational entrepreneurship training to help participants establish and grow their businesses.

Congratulating the graduates, Mrs Nabot Dodkhudoeva, Head of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast, remarked:

“You are fortunate that the University of Central Asia operates in Khorog, providing access to such qualified instructors in entrepreneurship. In our time, we had to navigate the business world through trial and error. The path of entrepreneurship is challenging, and for women in our communities, it is even harder. However, every challenge is surmountable, and the reward of independence that awaits you is well worth the effort.”