The regional forum' E-commerce in handicrafts as a driver of critical changes in women's entrepreneurship in Central Asia' took place on 5-6 May 2023, in Termez, Uzbekistan, organised by the International Association of Business Women of Uzbekistan (IBVA) in collaboration with the OSCE Project Coordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz).

The importance of IT and digital solutions in increasing the potential for regional cooperation was underlined throughout the discussions, and 130 women entrepreneurs from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan attended.

According to Sergej Sizov, the OSCE project's acting coordinator, assisting and emancipating women into the world of digital skills is crucial for the development of entrepreneurship and economic empowerment of women.

For many years, the OSCE has supported women's initiatives to strengthen themselves in the digital and business spheres, with concrete actions including a start-up platform 'Coozin' where women can run their online cooking business, as well as digital marketing training and courses, all in collaboration with IT Park and long-term collaboration with IBVA.