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CONTEXT

Tajikistan is grappling with significant humanitarian and developmental challenges primarily stemming from climate change and limited economic opportunities. The nation is widely acknowledged as highly vulnerable, contending with frequent extreme weather events that wreak havoc on land, crops, infrastructure, and livelihoods. Climate change exacerbates these issues, manifesting through glacier melting, shifting rainfall patterns, and prolonged droughts. The agricultural sector, employing 53% of the population and relying on rainfall for over 80% of its lands, faces additional threats. Inefficient resource management and limited investment heighten risks to livelihoods, food security, socio-economic development, and social cohesion.

Economic progress is impeded by labor out-migration, with remittances constituting over 30% of the national GDP and a dearth of diversified income-generating opportunities in rural areas. Despite the government’s recognition of potential business benefits and support for innovation, focused efforts are crucial. Civil society organisations, vital for Tajikistan’s development, encounter challenges, with limited government engagement hindering effective cooperation on governance, economic issues, and gender-based violence. Enhanced technical capacity and financial sustainability in civil society are essential.

ABOUT THE 3ZERO HOUSE

Creating inclusive economic opportunities in Tajikistan

The 3ZERO House Tajikistan is dedicated to promoting inclusive economic opportunities by providing support to MSMEs and start-ups, as well as civil society organizations, through capacity building. It also initiates citizen-driven climate actions, with a focus on energy conservation and the utilization of renewable energy sources.

In Tajikistan, Acted concentrates on three core areas of expertise and intervention: (1) Climate Change Adaptation through integrated natural resources management; (2) Fostering Sustainable, Inclusive Economic Growth through skills development and creating an environment for entrepreneurship; (3) Developing and enhancing local civil society and social accountability mechanisms through civil society empowerment, localization, and building capacities of communities and local authorities.

The 3ZERO House Tajikistan, powered by Acted, embodies the 3ZERO vision (Zero Exclusion, Zero Carbon, Zero Poverty) and complements Acted’s strategic interventions. Serving as a hub, it actively connects diverse stakeholders to facilitate collaboration, supporting businesses through incubation and acceleration programmes, strengthening Civil Society Organizations by building capacities and ensuring financial sustainability, as well as creating an enabling environment through the use of Acted’s tools like the Grassroot Organization Capacity Assessment (GOCA). Additionally, it promotes social entrepreneurship programs and fosters citizen-driven climate actions by advocating for energy conservation and efficiency, producing materials to raise awareness about environmental and climate change issues, and organizing public events on topics related to climate change, sustainable development, and responsible consumption and production.

Key figures

Zoom on: The 3ZERO House acceleration programme supporting 16 civil society organisations

Since its launched, the 3ZERO House in Tajikistan has been dedicated to supporting catalysts of social and economic transformation, specifically local CSOs and entrepreneurs. 

In 2023, Acted collaborated with Rost Business Accelerator (Rost) and Oxus Micro Finance Organization (Oxus) to implement an acceleration program for 16 local civil society organizations. This initiative aimed to empower them in developing their social enterprises for long-term sustainability within their institutions. Out of these organizations, five received investments through innovative financial mechanisms. Additionally, the Bactria Cultural Centre, in partnership with Rost and Oxus, incubated and accelerated 15 start-ups in the creative economy, resulting in investments in four of these ventures.

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