BPN Kyrgyzstan Expands Southward: A New Phase in the Development of Entrepreneurship in Osh
Osh, June 2025
The Business Professionals Network (BPN), an international program supporting small and medium-sized businesses, is turning a new page in its 26-year history in Kyrgyzstan. In early June, BPN Country Director Thomas Lauviner will visit the southern part of the country—Osh—for the first time to meet with entrepreneurs, visit program participants, and speak to a wide audience at a free public event.
This is no ordinary trip. It stems from a strategic decision: southern Kyrgyzstan—Osh, Jalal-Abad, and Batken—is becoming a priority focus for the BPN in the coming years.
Thomas Lauviner: the man who leads the program
Thomas Lauviner—director of the BPN office in Kyrgyzstan—is not your typical international expert who arrives with ready-made lectures straight out of a textbook. His background combines chemical engineering, education, management of large social institutions, and many years of experience working at the cantonal level in Switzerland. He has headed a language school, coordinated an institution with over a hundred employees and 80 clients, and organized complex administrative processes in the field of migration.
In Kyrgyzstan, Thomas conducts workshops and coaching sessions on the fundamentals of business, financial management, marketing, leadership, and strategic planning. The key to his approach is not theory for theory’s sake, but rather tools that entrepreneurs can put into practice the very next day.
Itinerary: three days of work
The visit is scheduled for June 1–3. The itinerary is packed.
June 1 — field visits to BPN program participants in the south. One of the key visits is a meeting with Meirim Kashkaeva, a program participant who has opened a croissant production facility in Bishkek and is ready to welcome the director to her workshop. Such meetings are part of BPN’s DNA: the program doesn’t end with a seminar; it supports entrepreneurs in their day-to-day work.
June 2 will be a workday featuring visits to local businesses, followed by a major event for the general public in the evening.
June 3 —the final day of the visit, meetings, and feedback.
June 2, 6:00 p.m. — public event in Osh
The highlight of the visit will be a free public event titled “Artificial Intelligence in Business: Best Practices in Europe.” It will take place on Tuesday, June 2, at 6:00 p.m. at Oshe.
Thomas Lauviner will discuss how entrepreneurs around the world—from small family businesses to medium-sized companies—are already using artificial intelligence in their day-to-day operations. Not as a futuristic tech trend, but as a practical tool that saves time, reduces operating costs, and helps make better decisions.
A separate section will focus on exactly how entrepreneurs in Kyrgyzstan can start using AI tools: which ones are available right now, whether they’re free or require a minimal investment, and where to begin for those who have never used them before.
Fourteen entrepreneurs from various sectors—including the hotel industry, tourism, retail, dentistry, construction, and services—have already registered for the event. Admission is free.
The language issue has been handled wisely
The way language is handled deserves special attention. Most entrepreneurs in southern Kyrgyzstan speak Kyrgyz—a fact that the BPN program does not overlook. Translating seminars using a traditional simultaneous interpreter means losing the liveliness of the discussion and the audience’s trust.
That’s why we’re doing things differently this time: the translation will be handled by Zhumagul—someone who doesn’t just translate words, but understands the context of entrepreneurship and can convey the meaning in a way that resonates with the local audience. This isn’t just a technical translation—it’s a collaborative effort.
BPN in the South: A Fresh Start
Thomas Lauviner’s visit is part of a broader effort to relaunch the BPN program in southern Kyrgyzstan. Over the years, a certain stereotype has taken hold here: BPN is all about seminars. People come, give lectures, and leave.
The new approach is structured differently. BPN is not an educational center, but rather a program designed to support entrepreneurs: it offers coaching, site visits to businesses, a thorough review of finances and business plans, access to financing, and a community of entrepreneurs who support one another.
The South has its own unique context. It has a strong tradition of small family businesses and enormous untapped potential in manufacturing, trade, tourism, and services. And here, there is a critical shortage—not of knowledge per se, but of systems and tools that can help turn a good product into a sustainable business.
Reference: BPN in Kyrgyzstan
Business Professionals Network has been operating in Kyrgyzstan since 1999—one of the first countries where the program was launched. During this time, more than 600 entrepreneurs have participated in the BPN program, over 12,000 jobs have been supported, and more than 600 seminars and training sessions have been held. Program participants include companies from a wide range of industries: from printing houses and garment manufacturers to internet service providers and medical clinics.
Today, BPN operates out of two offices—in Bishkek (136 Tabaldiev Street) and in Osh (349B Alymbek Datka Street). The program offers entrepreneurs support in four areas: business education, coaching, access to financing, and membership in an entrepreneurs’ association.
To register for the event on June 2: +996 555 001 591 | info@bpn.kg BPN South · Osh, 349B Alymbek Datka St.