OREANDA-NEWS. On September 09, 2008 A seminar on the topic of "MicroCredit Bank's loans for female entrepreneurs" was held in Sherabad district of Surkhandarya region. Among the participants were the chairmen of city and district women committees, representatives of public organizations, staff of MicroCredit Bank and female entrepreneurs.

Special role is given to MicroCredit Bank in the support of small business and private entrepreneurship, raising the population's employment level. In the past two years it gave out loans for some 73.5 billion soums to entrepreneurs and farmers, and provided micro-leasing services for 19 billion soums.

In order to evaluate the scale and quality of work being implemented on the way to developing entrepreneurship, and the efficiency of the bank's micro-investments, various fairs and contests, seminars and other events are organized in different parts of Uzbekistan. Among them are the competitions for the "Best project in service sphere", "and the "Best project of young entrepreneur".

In the first half of this year the enterprises employing females and managed by females, as well as about 5,000 female entrepreneurs working on their own have been extended loans for some 8.8 billion soums. As a result new jobs were created for 10,483 women.

The purpose of this seminar was to create even more favourable conditions for women engaged in entrepreneurial activity, as well as to assist the expansion of production by small businesses employing and managed by females.

Surkhandarya regional office of MicroCredit Baank is also taking active measures to provide micro-finance assistance to female entrepreneurs.

Termez based Maftuna-Odiljon-Nodira private company borrowed a loan in the amount of 7 billion soums for this bank to set up adras production. As a result employment was provided to scores of young women.

Kulol Limited Liability Company located in Sherabad district was provided an opportunity to launch the production of high quality porcelain ware using the most advanced production techniques.

"Taking into consideration the demand and supply, we have scaled up the production," the Chairman of the Board of the Company Sarvara Karshieva said. "Right now the company employs more than twenty female workers."

During the seminar an exhibition of the products manufactured by female entrepreneurs who set up their business using the money borrowed from the bank was organized. A group of young ladies, graduates of professional colleges, who expressed an interest in starting an entrepreneurial activity, were given the certificates of the bank.