Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Visa, the world leader in digital payments and innovative payment solutions, announces the launch of the She’s Next global initiative. Empowered by Visa in Central Asia. The initiative was created to support women in business who manage, finance, develop or are just planning to start their own business. 

The Fintech Hub of the International Financial Center "Astana" became the partner of the initiative, in Uzbekistan the program was supported by the Association of Business Women of Uzbekistan, the Business Association of Women Entrepreneurs "Asia" in the region of Central Asia.

The initiative, which kicked off in the US in 2019, is today launched in a number of countries, including Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia and Serbia, and is a testament to Visa’s commitment to supporting small businesses in general and women’s entrepreneurship in particular.

According to global data, there are 252 million women entrepreneurs in the world who are developing businesses in various directions, while women in business still face gender and cultural stereotypes that prevent them from developing their businesses. In the corporate world, there is only one woman out of four top managers, and women, on average, take three to five years longer than men to reach the CEO position2. At the same time, studies show that if women participate in the development of the world economy on an equal basis with men on a permanent basis, by 2025 the annual global GDP level will increase by 26% with a profit of US$28 trillion.

“Today there is a great demand from women to develop their own business and we are happy to contribute to the development of women’s entrepreneurship and leadership in Uzbekistan and Central Asia, share our experience, resources and services to create a local community of confident and motivated women entrepreneurs, and help them develop in business, ”commented Vera Platonova, senior vice president and general manager of Visa in the CIS and Southeast Europe, on the launch of the program.

Within the framework of the Visa initiative, together with the Fintech Hub of the Astana International Financial Center, they are launching an educational program for women in business - those who are already developing their business or are just planning to start a business. The program starts on April 1, 2021 and will consist of five webinars with leading business experts who will share their experience, knowledge and practical skills on relevant topics.

“Uzbekistan is one of the countries of Central Asia, where a global campaign to support women entrepreneurs is being launched. The Fintech Hub of the AIFC acted as the main partner of the initiative, supporting the empowerment of women in business, in particular in technology,” said Farhad Nurkamalov, Head of the Fintech Hub of the AIFC.