Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — State technical schools in Uzbekistan will be able to establish spin-off companies to produce new products and technologies based on startup projects with high commercial potential.
Such companies will receive grants of up to 1 billion soums from the Vocational Education Development Fund to implement student startup projects.
By the end of 2026, model spin-off companies are expected to be operating in at least one technical school in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, each region and Tashkent.
The procedure for establishing such companies was approved by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 524 dated 29 September 2026.
The document was adopted pursuant to Presidential Resolution No. PP-148 of 20 April 2026 on implementing the “Youth of New Uzbekistan — 2030” strategy in 2026–2027 and additional measures to promote youth employment.
The initiative aims to introduce innovation into vocational education, provide employment opportunities for graduates and support technical school students.
The rules define a spin-off company as a legal entity established at a technical school to manufacture products and provide services based on startup projects involving new developments, while engaging students in these activities. Its founders may include the technical school itself, as well as individuals and legal entities.
The technical school must hold at least 25% of the company’s charter capital. Companies will be established in professions and fields for which training is already provided at the technical school. The new rules do not apply to non-state vocational education institutions.
For five years after a company is established, referred to in the rules as the investment period, the state’s share in its charter capital may not be privatized. The company also may not be used for purposes unrelated to its core activities.
The Agency for Professional Education under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation will determine within one month which technical schools will establish spin-off companies, taking into account the specialization of the regions.
An initiator with a project involving a new development, production or service must conclude a founding agreement with the technical school and submit an application through the “Management of Vocational Education Processes — EMIS PT” information system.
The application must include founding documents, a project business plan, a feasibility study and financial calculations. If the technical school itself is the initiator, a founding agreement is not required.
Applications will be reviewed by a special commission established by the agency. The commission will have at least seven members and may include ministry officials and foreign specialists. The agency director will approve the commission’s composition annually by 10 January. Applications will be reviewed within 10 days, with the period extendable by five days if necessary.
The initiator will personally present the project at an open meeting.
The commission will assess the project’s financial and economic efficiency, level of innovation, implementation of dual education involving students, potential to generate revenue from product sales, as well as employer demand and employment prospects for graduates.
The commission will send its decision to the applicant within three working days. If the documents are incomplete, they will be returned for revision, and a new application may be submitted after one month.
A register of spin-off companies will be maintained in the EMIS PT system, with access provided through the Startup Base unified startup ecosystem platform. Companies will submit quarterly reports to the agency.
To receive a grant, a spin-off company must submit a detailed project presentation to the agency, an employment contract with at least one teacher or master of industrial training, and dual education agreements with at least five technical school students. It must also describe the production or services to be created and the number of students who will be employed in them.
Projects will be assessed on a 100-point scale. Up to 30 points may be awarded for innovation, 25 for economic efficiency, 20 for employment impact, 15 for export potential and 10 for environmental impact. The minimum passing score is 71 points, while projects scoring 70 points or less will not pass the selection.
Following a positive decision, the agency and the technical school will conclude a grant agreement within one month. The agreement will specify the project’s objectives, timeline and expected results, the grant amount, financing schedule, forms of control over the targeted use of funds and reporting procedures.
The funds will be transferred to the technical school’s treasury account. The school will use them to purchase property, equipment, technologies, intellectual property and other assets and contribute them to the spin-off company’s charter capital.
If a company refuses to sign the agreement, ceases operations, is liquidated, reorganized or declared bankrupt, the grant allocation will be suspended.
Vacant buildings, structures and sites belonging to technical schools will be provided to spin-off companies for free use for a period of no more than five years.
Light prefabricated structures without deep foundations or underground facilities may be built on these sites. Companies will pay for the gas, water and electricity used in production based on readings from separately installed meters.
The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan and the regional and Tashkent city administrations have been instructed to attract foreign investors to spin-off companies. Together with the Ministry of Poverty Reduction and Employment, they will also monitor jobs created at the companies and facilitate the employment of technical school graduates through them.
The Vocational Education Development Fund will cover the costs of upgrading the EMIS PT system.
