DETERMINANTS OF WOMEN'S ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN RURAL AREAS: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM TASHKENT REGION, UZBEKISTAN

This paper investigates the socioeconomic determinants of women's entrepreneurship in rural districts of Tashkent Region, Uzbekistan, drawing on a primary survey of 365 female entrepreneurs across 11 districts (2025–2026) and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis conducted in Stata 17.0. The results reveal statistically significant regional disparities: proximity to the Tashkent agglomeration explains a β-coefficient of 4.278 (p<0.01) advantage in monthly income relative to the peripheral Bekobod district, while enterprise experience demonstrates the strongest positive effect (β=0.504; p<0.001). The overall model explains 67.6% of income variance (R²=0.676; F=4.756; p<0.001). Survey findings indicate that 26.4% of respondents operate informally — invisible to official statistics — while 84.0% identify financial support as their most critical need, yet only 11.0% have accessed formal bank credit. Chi-square analysis confirms statistically significant associations between marital status and financing sources (χ²=25.29; p=0.013) and between perceived barriers and financial access (χ²=27.48; p=0.036). Based on these findings, this paper proposes three complementary policy instruments: a three-criteria E-B-M classification model, an Integrated Women's Entrepreneurship Infrastructure Centre (ATIM; BCR=1.92; NPV=+1.9 billion UZS) and a Women Entrepreneur Finance Portal (WEFP). Projections under the baseline scenario suggest that joint implementation could increase the number of formally registered women entrepreneurs from 43,860 to 80,000–85,000 by 2030.