A new pastry workshop called Imkaan has opened in Tashkent, offering vocational training and employment for children with developmental disabilities. The project was initiated by Gulzoda, who developed a custom teaching methodology while helping her own son gain independence and practical life skills. What began as sessions with a few families has grown into a full-fledged educational and production initiative.
The project caught the attention of Paynet, which offered systematic support. This led to the creation of not just a learning space, but a real production facility where children can work with professional equipment and create products for the open market. Today, Imkaan operates a fully equipped workshop with a team of 6 mentors and specialists, and 10 children actively involved in production.
Industry experts are leading the launch. Sanjar Mukhamedov, currently head chef at Safia and formerly head pastry chef at Ecorn and Caravan Group, oversees recipe development, production processes, and quality control. Laziz Gulyamov, founder of Pie Republic and L’artisan Ice Cream & Desserts, has also joined, bringing his experience in building culinary brands to help develop Imkaan as a commercial venture.
The brand’s first product line features rich-flavored, modern pastries. It includes a six-flavor cookie set (Lotus caramel with white chocolate, peanut, vanilla with dark chocolate and marshmallow, oatmeal with raisins and honey, vanilla with almond flour, and chocolate brownie), along with honey cake (Medovik), Napoleon, and baklava. The team emphasizes that product quality must be the brand’s main selling point—customers should choose Imkaan not only for its social mission but because they genuinely enjoy the products.
Imkaan is the first project of Paynet’s new venture division. Paynet acts not only as an investor but also as a strategic partner, assisting with product development, marketing, sales channels, and financial management. This approach goes beyond mere financing, leveraging Paynet’s infrastructure and expertise to help the team grow both the business and its social impact.
Beyond pastry production, Imkaan plans to expand into education. The project holds a license for educational activities and will next launch professional courses for people with developmental disabilities, combining training, practice, and real work skills. “This is not a charity story. It’s a story about how everyone needs at least one chance to show what they can do. My son got that chance. Now dozens of other children have it too,” says Gulzoda.
Orders for Imkaan products can be placed via the Telegram bot @imkaanbakery_bot, with a choice of delivery time. A 20% discount is available on all pre-orders until October 2. The team also plans to integrate Imkaan with major delivery services in the future.
Source: uznews.uz