Challenge
Tajikistan faces a number of serious economic development challenges, including market failures, lack of access to finance, a weak labor market with limited opportunities for youth employment, and an agricultural sector that can be a cornerstone of rural growth, yet offers women, who comprise 75 percent of agricultural workers, low pay and job insecurity. The lack of economic opportunities in Tajikistan has become a critical threat to stability and security that extends far beyond its borders.
Solution
The USAID-funded Agribusiness Competitiveness Activity in Tajikistan (ACAT) supported agribusinesses to diversify product lines, leveraged promising domestic and international market opportunities, and contributed to a competitive, inclusive, and resilient agricultural sector. ACAT used a market-driven, private sector-led approach to stimulate economic growth, increase employment, and improved livelihoods by enhancing the competitiveness of micro, small and medium enterprises in 13 districts in the Khatlon region. Making Cents led ACAT’s cross-cutting inclusion efforts, ensuring that women and youth participated in and benefitted from project interventions.
To this end, in 2018 we conducted a Women and Youth Inclusion Analysis that identified the key socioeconomic, political, cultural, and institutional constraints to women’s and youth’s greater engagement in the horticulture and dairy value chains. Based on analysis findings, we developed a comprehensive Women and Youth Inclusion Strategy that outlined potential inclusion targeting and mainstreaming activities for ACAT. Making Cents continually supports annual collaboration, learning and adapting (CLA) exercises to reflect on progress made on inclusion.
To identify opportunities to increase women and youth’s inclusion within ACAT agribusinesses grantees, Making Cents conducted an inclusion audit in 2021. The final report offered insights into the current status of women and youth inclusion within lead firms and recommended activities ACAT can implement to increase the meaningful inclusion of women and youth within the Khatlon agribusiness sector. In program year four, Making Cents’ activities addressed gaps identified during the inclusion audit, which focused on youth engagement in the agribusiness sector via a Making Cents-led youth internship for 23 youth and a Doing Business Differently summer camp for youth seeking to start agribusinesses that capitalized on new technologies and value chains. Additionally, Making Cents focused on enhancing women’s role in the sector through a training and mentoring series supporting women in middle management roles and strengthening their leadership capacities. To highlight women and youth’s meaningful engagement in the sector, Making Cents facilitated a journalist training and contest focused on inclusive reporting and developed the photo book and docuseries, Groundbreakers: The Fearless 15, to profile 15 women business leaders who own and operate enterprises of all sizes across the agribusiness sector in the Khatlon region.
In addition, Making Cents supported ACAT’s financial inclusion activities. During the project start-up, we conducted an Access to Finance assessment to understand the supply- and demand-side constraints impeding key market actors, including women and youth, from accessing finance. We also developed a Financial Inclusion action plan that outlines key demand and supply-side activities that will help micro, small, and medium enterprises access the finance they need in order to grow their competitiveness in the agricultural sector. We helped ACAT identify financial institution partners and provide ongoing technical assistance to support lending to women and youth.
Additionally, to improve business development services (BDS) available to youth, Making Cents conducted training to introduce eighteen BDS providers (BDSPs) to a business coaching approach, which helped them work with youth entrepreneurs and other MSMEs to identify business opportunities, areas for capacity building, and link to service providers.