Women entrepreneurs from Uzbekistan took part in the WorldFood Istanbul 2025

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — From September 2 to 5, participants from the Women's Entrepreneurship Support Program (WESP), implemented by Hamroh, UNDP and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, with the support of Coca-Cola, took part in the 33rd International Food Exhibition WorldFood Istanbul 2025.

WorldFood Istanbul is one of the leading international exhibitions in the food industry, bringing together producers, distributors, retailers and experts from more than 40 countries. The event serves as a key platform for companies to enter global markets and establish promising business connections.

With the support of Coca-Cola company, participants from different regions of Uzbekistan visited the leading international exhibition for the first time. The delegation included women working in the bakery and confectionery industries, fruit and vegetable processing, fish farming and catering. During the trip, the entrepreneurs had a unique opportunity to learn about global trends in the food industry, as well as to explore modern approaches to packaging and promoting products to foreign markets.

An important part of their participation was establishing contacts with potential partners, which will help expand export opportunities and promote business development.

During their time in Türkiye, the delegation visited Coca-Cola İçecek’s (CCI) Çorlu plant—a flagship location and strategic supporter of the Proud Hundreds program, which was launched in the 100th anniversary of Republic of Turkey. Program aims to increase women employment rates in CCI Turkey and contribute towards enhancing the women talent pool by providing scholarship and internship opportunities for 100’s of young women and by providing educational support, internships, mentoring and priority recruitment opportunities.

Established in 1997, the Çorlu plant spans 127,000 m² and plays a key role in delivering both sparkling and still beverages to the region, with an installed production capacity of 100 million unit cases per year. The plant reflects CCI’s commitment to sustainable and efficient production, having received Zero Waste Certification in 2020 and installed its first wind turbine in 2023.
During the visit, participants explored best practices in personnel management, training of young specialists, and the implementation of sustainability, quality control, and food safety principles—gaining valuable insights for the development of their own projects.

CCI, headquartered in Istanbul and operating in 12 countries, has four bottling plants in Uzbekistan, located in Urgench, Samarkand, Tashkent, and the recently revamped Namangan.  CCI has been a signatory of the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) since 2015. In 2023, it mandated Equal Pay Certification across all its countries, with CCI Uzbekistan becoming the first certified company in the country. That same year, CCI Uzbekistan Women’s Network was founded to help build more inclusive and safer workplace for women.

A special source of inspiration for the participants was a meeting with representatives of the My Sister Project program, supported by the Coca-Cola Foundation in Türkiye. The My Sister Project program provides women with mentoring and grants that help not only improve their business skills, but also their active participation in the social and economic development of Türkiye. This exchange of experience showed how important are the programs that unite women entrepreneurs and how they contribute to the development of their leadership and business competencies. In the meeting, the participants also engaged in meaningful discussions around CCI’s Diversity & Inclusion policies. The meeting was also attended by Sunnatilla Isomov, the First Secretary of the Consulate of Uzbekistan in Türkiye.

Begüm Yontar, Senior Director of Sustainable Development at The Coca-Cola Company in the Eurasia and Middle East region noted: "The Coca-Cola Company has been supporting women's entrepreneurship around the world for many years. It was an honor for us to share with the entrepreneurs from Uzbekistan our experience in supporting women’s entrepreneurship in Türkiye and Uzbekistan. The lively and inspiring dialogue of the meeting energized us as much as it did the Uzbek delegation. We admire the strength of these women - each of them is not only a successful entrepreneur who creates jobs, but also a loving mother, a caring wife, an active citizen. But the most valuable thing is the strength of their unity and mutual support, which we felt throughout the meeting."

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