Creative projects of women of Uzbekistan

**Creative Projects of Women of Uzbekistan**

As many as 12 creative women's projects were presented on September 30, 2026, at the U-Enter Innovation Center in Tashkent.

The Women Cup startup program is aimed at developing women's entrepreneurship and strengthening the potential of Uzbekistan's creative economy. It is implemented by U-Enter and Virtual Accelerate with financial support from the Government of Switzerland.

More than 120 applications from various regions of Uzbekistan were received for participation in the Women Cup, which started in mid-July this year. Based on the results of the competitive selection, more than 30 women's projects in various fields entered the program — from design, fashion, and textiles to architecture, art, media, digital production, crafts, and other creative industries.

For the participants, 14 educational sessions were held on the development of creative business, in particular on product development, customer research, financial management, branding, sales, and other topics.

In addition, individual mentors, including international ones, worked with each participant, helping to shape further development.

Business tours to the Tashkent Center for Contemporary Art, Human House, and Maison de Chapan were organized for the Women Cup participants.

At the U-ENTER Center, the participants were introduced to 3D technologies in creative industries and given the opportunity to develop concepts for their models and realize them using 3D printers.

Based on the results of the training, another selection of participants took place, and the 12 best of them were given the opportunity to compete in the final selection. Three project leaders get the chance to participate in the international design festival "Dubai Design Week" in Dubai.

Handmade scented candles are actively used today to create atmosphere, and the aroma brand Shami is currently one of the most recognizable in Uzbekistan. It was founded in 2022 by Alexandra Kasaeva, and today in her creative workshop in Tashkent's Navruz Park, one can see candles, diffusers, car perfumes, soap, and actual creative products. For example, a souvenir such as a miniature ceramic flatbread with that very recognizable aroma of flatbread. "We spent three years developing this scent. The souvenir was created in collaboration with a ceramic master and is now presented in duty-free. The master created the flatbread, then it was painted, and we poured a candle with the scent of flatbread," the entrepreneur said.

This is exactly how, based on experience and creative thinking, original products are created that can become a memory of Uzbekistan and represent the country far beyond its borders.

According to Alexandra, the brand was gradually gaining confidence and recognition, and just this September, an unexpectedly large number of orders was received. Help — on how to coordinate work under the new conditions and adjust the business plan — came just during the training at the Women Cup.

Creating visual communication for fashion brands and cultural projects is the direction of the Evoke Bureau project. As the project's founder Shelin Erkhodzhaeva said, its main task is building the client's brand, how it should look visually on social networks, on banners, and in all communication channels. Today, this is called the visual component of a brand. The team has been working since the beginning of this year, but already, in addition to Uzbekistani partners, there are partners from Qatar. And the plans include active work in the market of this country and region, as active investments are being made in the creative industry there today, and values largely coincide with Uzbekistan.

The Mimoram AI project is designed to give a person doing renovations a clear plan and a justified estimate. It was created by entrepreneur Madina Ilkhomova based on her experience in major architectural firms in Turkey. Madina graduated from Tobb Etu University with a degree in architecture, and as a specialist, she noted that in Uzbekistan, people face the problem of lacking a clear plan and estimate when conducting renovation work. And the Mimoram AI platform she founded has proven its relevance. This algorithm converts a photo taken with a regular phone camera into a 3D model of a room and an exact estimate for renovating the space, including furnishing it.

It was these three projects that the expert jury recognized as the winners of the Women Cup.

Today, it is very important to give young people, women, and girls the opportunity to quickly change professions, improve their professional qualities, find their place in the modern economic scheme, and be self-sufficient. Therefore, the Embassy of Switzerland in Uzbekistan supports projects like the Women Cup.

"Currently, the economic situation around the world, and in particular, of course, in Uzbekistan, implies that people should not wait for subsidies or help from the state, but should themselves be able to build their career path, start their own business, including using the capabilities of artificial intelligence."

As the director of U-ENTER Oleg Ryzhichenko noted, today the Center is paying more and more attention to supporting women's startups. "And the Women Cup program is precisely aimed at ensuring that girls and women who want to start or develop their business can realize themselves, reach a new level, get support, encouragement, find their mentor, and, finally, successfully commercialize their ideas," he emphasized. And the fact that the program is implemented with the support of the Swiss Government and the international platform Virtual Accelerate made it possible to attract mentors from different countries with broad international experience.

"In addition, all thirty companies that were selected to participate in the acceleration program will feel ongoing support and participate in various events taking place at U-Enter. Some of them will interact with venture investors regarding attracting investments," Oleg Ryzhichenko said.

Thus, a step-by-step formation of an eco-startup system community is taking place in the country, which is capable of stimulating the growth of private business and the creative economy, contributing to bringing Uzbekistan to a qualitatively new level of development.