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USD45,000 in prizes for best Uzbek small business

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Sewing and weaving SME in Bukhara, Uzbekistan.

The search is on for Uzbekistan's three most successful private small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The winners will be awarded tens of thousands of dollars in selected office equipment, free business insurance policies and reduction in loan front-end fees.

In entering the contest, Uzbek businesses will have a chance to demonstrate their strategic planning capabilities and abilities to compete for investment funding in a free market environment.

The SME Business Project Competition, launched 4 March 2003, is sponsored by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland, Uzbekinvest national export-import insurance company and five Uzbekistan commercial banks: Asaka Bank, National Bank, Pakhta Bank, Promstroibank and Uzjilsberbank. The EBRD organised the contest. The competition builds on the success of a similar event held in Kiev, Ukraine during the EBRD's 1998 annual meeting. That competition is now an annual event.

To enter the contest, SME owners are to create and submit plans for business proposals to the participating banks. The best plans will not only be eligible for loans, but for a reduction in loan front-end fees, along with other valuable prizes.

International experts will review the entries before announcing the winner at an awards ceremony in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent during the EBRD Annual Meeting 4-5 May 2003.

The sponsoring Uzbek banks will actively encourage both existing and potential clients to take part in the competition. The banks expect the competition will increase interest in the SME line of Credit, an important source of medium-term financing at reasonable interest rates.

The top winner will receive office equipment worth US$20,000, the next $15,000 and the third $10,000. Uzbekinvest will provide the winners with free insurance products such as mortgage insurance, business interruption insurance and borrower's life insurance. Also all three winners will receive total or partial reduction of the front-end fees from the participating banks which, depending on the size of the loan, could be worth up to $10,000.

7 March 2003