BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 1. The Ministry of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan, in collaboration with the World Bank, has finalized the subsequent operational stages of two major enterprise development initiatives, namely the FINGROW and SaBIIT projects, Trend reports via the ministry.
The portfolio review was conducted during a meeting between Ilhom Norqulov, First Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan, and Cécile Thioro Niang, World Bank Practice Manager for Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation.
The ongoing “Access to Finance for Jobs and Growth” (FINGROW) Project is structured around the deployment of structured guarantee mechanisms and a fund-of-funds investment architecture, aimed at fostering energy-efficient and high-potential small and medium enterprise (SME) development. Complementing this, the conceptual design of the forthcoming “Scaling & Accelerating Better Jobs, Investment, and Inclusive Transformation” (SaBIIT) Project was reviewed, focusing on enhancing productivity, modernizing startups, and integrating new exporters into global value chains.
Additionally, the parties examined the technical preparations for the World Bank’s forthcoming B-READY Subnational Assessment, a diagnostic tool designed to evaluate regional business practices. This assessment will systematically analyze administrative procedures in areas such as construction permitting, international trade, and property registration to generate evidence-based policy recommendations.
Institutional coordination for these initiatives will be consolidated through the newly established Small Business and Jobs Coalition, a unified platform intended to harmonize funding from international financial institutions, mitigate project duplication, and optimize credit allocation to the private sector.
