Microsoft Word Microfinance development in Uzbekistan Eng doc

Assessment of MFOs clientele base among the least protected population groups 
Unemployed. Uzbekistan population is approximately 26.1 million. Its labor force consists 
of 9,945,600 persons, of which 6 percent are unemployed according to the World Bank 
estimates. Thus, the total number of unemployed is estimated at circa 597,000. 
But not all the unemployed have entrepreneurial qualities and accordingly, not all of 
them are potential MFOs clients. The key features defining and shaping entrepreneurial 
potential include: sex, age, educational level, and position and status at the last place of 
employment.

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According to a number of studies the general social portrait of a manager/entrepreneur is 
as follows: age 30 to 49; more than 50% have a higher educational background. A 
breakdown of the unemployed in Uzbekistan by age groups illustrates that 43.3% of them are 
in the age favorable for entrepreneurial activities. 
Young people from the ages of 16 to 30 constitute 55.3% of the total number of 
unemployed. It is the age when a person undergoes professional development and their 
profession is chosen. There is no data available about how many people in this category are 
capable of managing small enterprises but some studies in Russia for instance showed that 
perhaps 3-5% of this age group is capable. It is appropriate to mention that at this age lack of 
financial resources is one of the main obstacles in establishing a business (about 60% of the 
respondents of a sociological poll pointed to this factor, Table 7, Appendix 1). In this 
respect, the development of microfinance will not only rejuvenate domestic small businesses 
but realize the young generation’s ambitions as well. The latter is especially important in the 
context of the demographic situation in Uzbekistan where unemployment among the young is 
more than 13%. 
Thus, about 48% or 287,000 of Uzbekistan’s unemployed could set up their own 
business in favorable conditions and produce demand for microfinance services.