Small businesses operating in the Kyrgyz Republic are transitioning to electronic management tracking systems with financial and structural assistance from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union. Business owners in Manas, a small town situated in the southern region of the country, have updated their administrative operations by participating in the Group Advisory Project, an offshoot of the broader EBRD Advice for Small Businesses initiative.
The joint international deployment targets local entrepreneurs who need to integrate digital tools and modernise their financial reporting frameworks. Though participants represent various commercial fields, the training cohorts are grouped based on shared operational needs. The scheme has prioritised replacing traditional manual record-keeping methods with modern databases to establish clearer corporate tracking.
Jibek Batyrkulova, a local business owner who operates an apparel atelier, a pattern-making academy and a proprietary clothing line, utilised the programme to restructure her financial tracking systems. Previously, the lack of digital organisation hindered corporate planning. “Becoming a designer had always been my dream. I started from pattern-making courses for girls and I’m proud to bring joy and confidence to my clients,” says Jibek. “We are expanding, and demand for our services has grown. Before, we sometimes lost invoices or records of new clients, so I felt we needed to improve our systems and make them more transparent,” she explains. The newly installed digital tracking tools now allow her to monitor corporate turnover and client files accurately.
Astra Iskenderova, who owns an aesthetic clinic in Manas, joined the project to update her sales, customer relations and digital marketing capabilities. Her healthcare facility originally commenced operations with a three-bed treatment capacity. “I have been working as a cosmetologist for nine years. I started my business with three treatment beds and I’m very proud of my own authentic clinic. Now I want to focus more on social media marketing to attract new clients, promote skin treatment products across different price segments, and offer a wider range of cosmetology services,” she explains. Following her participation, the implementation of a dedicated customer relationship management (CRM) system has enabled the clinic to track patient communications, launch marketing campaigns and manage product lines efficiently.
