DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, May 1, 2026-The World Bank today approved a new grant to expand economic opportunities for women in Tajikistan, with expected benefits reaching up to 20,000 people, including unemployed men and women, people living in rural and peri-urban communities, and economically vulnerable women across the country.
The Tajikistan Women's Economic Empowerment Project (TWEEP) is expected to create 3,450 new jobs and enable 850 women-owned and women-led businesses to access financial services through a $4.73 million grant from the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF).
"Jobs are the foundation of growth. But barriers remain, preventing women from starting new businesses at the same rate and holding back a powerful engine of growth," said Gael Raballand, the World Bank Group Country Manager for Tajikistan. "The project aims to contribute toward closing that gap and strengthening social inclusion, which is critical for a more economically vibrant Tajikistan."
The project will support 3,200 aspiring women entrepreneurs and 100 women-led businesses in the Dushanbe, the Districts of Republican Subordination (DRS), and the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO) through entrepreneurship training, skills development, and improved access to financial services, with a focus on emerging sectors such as tourism, agribusiness, digital technologies, and industries, including recycling, renewable energy services, sustainable agro-processing, and climate-smart agriculture.
TWEEP will equip women with entrepreneurial and financial skills, provide transparent and competitive grant financing to viable individual and group enterprises, and support entry into higher-value, digital, and green sectors. Specifically, the project will support 1,600 women with grants and structured mentoring, provide advisory support to 100 registered micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and offer matching grants to 50 MSMEs. By strengthening women-led businesses, TWEEP will generate income opportunities, stimulate local job creation, and contribute to broader private sector development.
Beyond benefiting direct participants, the project will also improve food and economic security for their households, contributing to broader poverty reduction goals in the country.
Implementation of the project will be led by the State Committee for Investment and State Property Management of the Republic of Tajikistan (SCISPM), in coordination with the Committee on Women and Family Affairs under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and the State Business Incubator. The project will also leverage partnerships with the World Bank Group's private sector arm (the International Finance Corporation (IFC)) for private sector engagement and with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) through its "One Village One Product (OVOP)" initiative, which supports rural economic development and local entrepreneurship.
Founded in 2000, the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) is a partnership between the government of Japan and the World Bank that supports community-driven activities that benefit the world's most vulnerable and disadvantaged people. JSDF grants fund pilot interventions that challenge the status quo, introduce innovative solutions to solve long-standing problems, and offer the potential to deliver impact at scale.
