On June 1, the President of Uzbekistan signed a resolution “On additional measures to ensure youth employment by supporting business projects,” which establishes the provision of preferential loans for young people and students to start businesses.

Under the resolution, Aloqabank will provide loans (microcredits) under the “Youth Business” program to individuals under 31 years of age for up to 7 years, with a grace period of up to 1 year on principal and up to 3 months on interest payments. The interest rate is set at 4 percentage points above the Central Bank base rate.

Microcredits of up to 100 million soums will be issued against an insurance policy or third-party guarantee, while loans of up to 300 million soums will be secured by property collateral. The funds are intended for projects in services, manufacturing, innovative startups, and other areas.

Under the “Jobs for Youth” project of the “Youth Business” program, individual entrepreneurs and legal entities can receive loans for up to 7 years with a grace period of up to 2 years on principal at a rate of 4 percentage points above the Central Bank base rate.

The proposal by Aloqabank to invest up to $100,000 in youth innovative startup projects at the initial stage has been approved.

National Bank of Uzbekistan (Uzmilliybank) will implement the “Future Entrepreneur” project under the “Step into the Future” program, providing loans to university graduates and youth under 31 of up to 2 billion soums, and to business entities that employ students and youth of up to 10 billion soums, at a rate of 1 percentage point above the Central Bank base rate.

If the employment contract with a hired young person is terminated within two years, the loan interest rate will be adjusted to the commercial rate, unless another unemployed young person is hired within one month. The salary must be at least twice the minimum wage.

Source: www.gazeta.uz