Aziza Pulotova

TAJIKISTAN

Ms. Aziza Pulotova currently manages Tajikistan’s first business incubator under the auspices of the Women’s Entrepreneurship for Empowerment, an initiative funded by European Union and implemented by the National Association of Business Women of Tajikistan. In that role, she provides individual entrepreneurs and startup enterprises with educational and consulting services that support them to conceive, design, establish, and develop new businesses. In 2015, she co-founded the Training Center of Business and Finance Excellence, which supports capacity building among small and medium enterprises, entrepreneurs, university students, and schoolchildren. In a recent project funded by The World Bank, this center trained over 4000 youth in entrepreneurship and business plan writing.

Ms. Pulotova holds a master’s degree in international economic relations from Tajik State University. She is an alumna of several U.S. government exchange programs, including the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program in Nebraska, the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Silicon Valley, California, and the International Visiting Leadership Program (IVLP), which took place in California, Florida, Minnesota, and Washington, DC. In 2016 she also participated in the U.S. Department of State’s Alumni Thematic International Exchange Seminar (Alumni TIES) entitled “Strengthening the Business Climate for Women Entrepreneurs in South and Central Asia” in Kathmandu, Nepal.

During her Fellowship year, Ms. Pulotova aims to develop her expertise in project and business management, the financing of entrepreneurs and startups, and the organization and approaches of leading incubators and accelerators. She is particularly interested in initiatives that provide education and training to women and girls. Following her return to Tajikistan, she will strive to foster a more entrepreneurial culture—introducing innovations in the education, training and support of new businesses.