Enhancing (Self-)Employment Opportunities for the Most Vulnerable Women: Promoting Social Inclusion and Self-Reliance in Uzbekistan

2026-07-22

The proposed JSDF project introduces an economic inclusion pilot, targeting survivors of gender-based violence (GBV), women raising children with disabilities and women with disabilities. Building on the State of Economic Inclusion (SEI) framework, the project will layer multidimensional support on top of social safety nets through three entry points: (i) social safety nets plus, by strengthening case management and trauma-informed psychosocial services; (ii) livelihoods and jobs, by providing supported employment, inclusive professional training, business management skills training, and subgrants; and (iii) financial inclusion, by enhancing women’s financial literacy, decision-making, and access to safe financial tools. Anchored in NASP systems, the pilot will reach 4,000 women, test pathways to sustainable livelihoods, and generate lessons for scaling up social protection-plus approaches across Uzbekistan.The project will be structured around two mutually reinforcing components:Component 1 focuses on the supply side of social case management (SCM) to support economic inclusion. The project will support the capacity development of frontline social workers—including shelter staff and social workers of the National Agency for Social Protection under the President of Uzbekistan (NASP) —in effectively applying SCM approach and new SCM instruments, developed by the NASP to support economic inclusion of the most vulnerable women. Under the ongoing “INnovative SOcial Protection System for inclusiON of Vulnerable People Project (P504420) – INSON” project, NASP is developing the overall approach, methodology, and ICT systems for SCM. The JSDF grant will complement this work by strengthening the economic inclusion focus of the SCM system and building the capacity of social workers to facilitate employment and economic inclusion of vulnerable women, enabling social workers to assess and refer these beneficiaries to wage or self-employment opportunities. Using new knowledge and tools, social workers will select up to 5,000 vulnerable women suited for wage or flexible home-based work and based on SCM approach refer them to supported employment services (Component activity 2.1), inclusive professional training (Component activity 2.2), or business-management-skills (BMS) courses linked to subgrants (Component activities 2.3–2.4). Component 2 targets the demand side by expanding access of the project beneficiaries to (self-)employment opportunities. It will design, pilot, and deliver inclusive professional training for up to 3,000-3,500 beneficiaries, provide specialized business management skills (BMS) training for up to 1,000-1,500 women, and award competitive subgrants up to a maximum of US$5,000 to at least 500 promising entrepreneurs. The project will hire two types of civil society organizations (CSOs): one will facilitate wage employment placements based on the supported employment approach [1], and another will support future entrepreneurs with provision of BMS training, preparation of business plans, business follow-up and coaching. In addition, the project will include a financial inclusion pathway by providing all beneficiaries with financial literacy training, exposure to digital payments, and opportunities to strengthen savings practices. These measures will complement psychological support and career counseling, ensuring that beneficiaries not only access but sustain livelihoods through resilient and inclusive economic pathways.[1] Personalized support from employment specialists who match individuals with suitable employers, provide job coaching, and offer ongoing assistance to both employee and employer. Generally, this approach applies to the employment of persons with disabilities and follows the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) principle.

Uzbekistan

2026-03-29