Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The winners of the Women Cup accelerator for women creative entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan have been announced following the programme’s final at the U-Enter Innovation Centre.
Twelve finalists presented their creative projects, with the jury selecting fragrance brand Shami, Evoke Bureau and Mimoram AI as the winners.
The winners will have an opportunity to participate in Dubai Design Week in Dubai.
The programme is aimed at developing women’s entrepreneurship and strengthening the potential of Uzbekistan’s creative economy. It is implemented by U-Enter and Virtual Accelerate with financial support from the Government of Switzerland.
More than 120 applications from different regions of Uzbekistan were submitted for Women Cup, which started in mid-July. Following the selection process, more than 30 women-led projects joined the programme, covering design, fashion and textiles, architecture, art, media, digital production, crafts and other creative industries.
Participants took part in 14 educational sessions covering product development, customer research, financial management, branding, sales and other topics. Each participant also worked with individual mentors, including international experts.
Business tours were organised to the Tashkent Centre of Contemporary Art, Human House and Maison de Chapan. At U-Enter, participants were introduced to 3D technologies in the creative industries. They developed concepts for their models and produced them using 3D printers. Following the training, a selection was held, with the 12 strongest projects advancing to the final.
Shami: bread-scented souvenir
Fragrance brand Shami, founded in 2022 by Alexandra Kasaeva, has become one of the best-known such brands in Uzbekistan. Its workshop in Tashkent’s Navruz Park produces handmade candles, diffusers, car fragrances, soap and original souvenirs. One of them is a miniature ceramic flatbread carrying the distinctive scent of Uzbek flatbread.
“We developed this fragrance over three years. The souvenir was created in collaboration with a ceramic artist and is now available in duty-free. The artist made the flatbread, which was then painted, and we filled the candle with the flatbread fragrance,” the entrepreneur said.
According to Alexandra, the brand gradually gained recognition, while the company received an unexpectedly large number of orders in September.
Women Cup training helped her coordinate operations under the new circumstances and adjust her business plan.
Evoke Bureau: building a visual brand identity
Evoke Bureau focuses on visual communications for fashion brands and cultural projects.
Founder Shelin Erkhojaeva said the team’s main task is to build a client’s brand identity and determine how it should look on social media, banners and across all communication channels. The team has been operating since the beginning of this year and already has partners from Qatar in addition to clients and partners in Uzbekistan.
The project plans to expand actively in Qatar and the wider region, where significant investment is being directed into the creative industries and where, according to the founder, values are in many ways close to those in Uzbekistan.
Mimoram AI: renovation estimates from a photograph
Mimoram AI is designed to give people planning a renovation a clear plan and a detailed estimate of the costs involved.
The project was created by entrepreneur Madina Ilhomova based on her experience working at major architectural firms in Türkiye. She graduated from TOBB ETU University with a degree in architecture and noted that people in Uzbekistan often face a lack of planning and cost estimates when renovating their homes.
The platform’s algorithm converts a photograph taken with a phone camera into a 3D model of a room and a detailed estimate for renovating the space, including furnishing costs.
Nodira Mukhamadkulova, economic projects coordinator at the Embassy of Switzerland in Uzbekistan, explained why the embassy supports Women Cup.
She said it is important for young people, women and girls to be able to change professions quickly, upgrade their skills, find a place in the modern economy and become self-reliant.
“Today’s economic situation around the world, and in Uzbekistan in particular, means that people should not wait for subsidies or assistance from the state, but should be able to build their own career paths, start businesses and, among other things, use the opportunities provided by artificial intelligence,” she said.
Oleg Ryzhichenko, director of U-Enter, said the centre is paying increasing attention to supporting women-led startups.
“The Women Cup programme is specifically designed to help girls and women who want to start or develop their businesses realise their potential, move to a new level, receive support and motivation, find a mentor and, ultimately, successfully commercialise their ideas,” he said.
According to Ryzhichenko, support from the Government of Switzerland and international platform Virtual Accelerate made it possible to attract mentors from different countries with extensive international experience.
“Moreover, all 30 companies selected to participate in the accelerator programme will continue to receive support and take part in various events held at U-Enter. Some of them will engage with venture investors to attract investment,” he added.
The programme is contributing to the gradual development of a startup ecosystem in Uzbekistan aimed at supporting the growth of private business and the creative economy.
