Established in 2004, the Business Incubator of the Congress of Women of the Kyrgyz Republic (CWKR) is the first women-focused business incubator in the Kyrgyz Republic. The incubator has organized several events to bring together important thinkers and change agents who contribute to the social and economic development of Kyrgyzstan and the region. The Business Incubator serves its purpose as an engine of growth and services for small and medium sized businesses, contributing more broadly to private enterprise development in the country. Some of key activities include helping tenants with access to premises, credit lines, and consultation.

This interview was conducted with Ms. Niyazalieva Toktobubu Seiitalievna and coordinated by Ms. Zamira Akbagysheva, President of the The Congress of Women of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Is this the first company that you have started, and what drove you towards it? 
Balyk&T is the first fish company started by Mrs. Niyazalieva on her own. Her difficult situation when she lost her job after the collapse of the Soviet Union led her to tremendous change not only in her career, but in her whole life. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the Kyrgyz Republic was on the stage of its transition period to a market-oriented economy, many people became victims of severe unemployment and instability in the country. Mrs. Niyazalieva Toktobubu, who at those times was a civil servant in trade, also lost her job.

After many challenging years, Mrs. Niyazalieva Toktobubu Seiitalievna referred to the Business Incubator of the CWKR for consultancy and education when her company was facing major difficulties in management, and lack of financial stability. In 2004, when the Business Incubator was founded and the first clients the opportunity to go through its training, Mrs. Niyazalieva participated and received the necessary entrepreneurial skills to improve her company's business and use these skills to further develop the company to great success.

How did you finance your start-up operations and how long did it take for the company to become self-sustainable?
The start-up operations were financed from the first successes of the company. Once Balyk&T became more established, it received a credit worth approx. USD 200,000 from a local bank to broaden the company’s production. For example, this money enabled the company to buy an additional lake with a total area of 6 hectares, rent 20 hectares of land for the “fish food” growth and production, and purchase two additional cars for fish transportation. Since 1997, their “fish income” comprised 5-10 tons of fish and in later years grew to 10-15 tons of fish, which is a significant increase in the company’s production. In 2004-2005, some new technologies were introduced to the company and the management system was improved. As a result, not only the quality of her fish production grew, but also the demand for production grew rapidly thanks to the company’s proximity to the capital city Bishkek. After several years of hard but enjoyable work, the Balyk&T was able to pay the credit back and continue to work self-sustainably.

What are your major products and services and how are they unique? What is your competition?
The main products are three kinds of fish that are all organically grown. The high quality of the fish causes high demand on the local markets. The competition for now is that this fish company is one of the biggest and the most popular in the area and has branded itself as supplying fish of the highest quality. Many restaurants and stores in the capital city Bishkek are supplied by the fish products of the company. 

How did you first launch the product?
The first launch of the product was right after the first fish was grown and was ready to be supplied to the market. There were advertisements disseminated to shops, restaurants, cafes and local markets, which after the first purchase were highly interested in further cooperation. This first round of marketing already established a stable customer base.

How do you measure the success of the company?
The company was quite successful because it knew the best methods of raising fish, responding to the requirements of the clients. A stable customer base established in early days enabled the company to consistently build on its intial successes.

In the Kyrgyz Republic, there are many lakes which are not taken care of, and are not used properly, if used at all. Balyk&T participated in the tender announced by the Ministry of Rural Development and Agriculture, and won it. So it became responsible for development of and assistance to other fish companies around the country, and became one of the leaders of the fish industry development in the Kyrgyz Republic. 3 water reservoirs were given to this fish company for 10 years for the development of their fish production and further promotion it to the market.

Who are your clients and how many do you have? How are you focusing on expanding your user community?
Restaurants, cafes, and food shops in the capital city as well as the local area are the permanent clients of Balyk&T. When the products are of a high quality, and when the company is reliable towards its clients, the demand for its products is always stable and growing. As for the company, it keeps doing its best for its clients in order to expand its user community.

What was the biggest challenge in starting an innovative business in your country and how did you overcome that? 
The entire fish industry was damaged after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and most of the fish experts and specialists were spread all over the former Soviet Union or left the Kyrgyz Republic. Starting the industry up again was challenging because we had to bring together a team of specialists and reintroduce the business. Thanks to untiring efforts and strong motivation to reconstruct the industry, she was able to build a team and create employment for many people who were stressed by unemployment. Mrs. Niyazalieva credits CWKR for her good managerial skills that she learned at the business incubator training. Learning these skills was challenging for those who were used to a socialistic economy and never had any knowledge on a market-oriented style. However, the proper management of the situation and the newly introduced Business Incubator served as an extremely important tool for overcoming the problem.

Who are the shareholders in your company?
The main shareholder is Mrs. Niyazalieva, who is the founder of this business with her two sons and 2 daughters’ in law, who actively assisted her in her work.

How have you benefited from business incubation? Do you have some specific lessons that you know now and wish you would have known when you started your business, and which you would like to share with fellow entrepreneurs?
The outstanding results by Balyk &T were achieved thanks to the strong efforts of Mrs. Niyazalieva Toktobubu and her eagerness to get training at the Business Incubator of the CWKR. She is now an off-site client of the incubator. The education she got many years ago in the business incubator training helped her not only develop her products and business, but also gave her tremendous entrepreneurial skills. Thanks to this, she possesses excellent managerial and marketing skills, which help promote the fish to the markets of the country, successfully get credit lines, and simultaneously provide employment opportunities. 

As a result, Balyk&T is the best fish production specialist in the region.

With hindsight, are there any particular lessons or messages that you wish you would have known when you started up your company?
Mrs. Niyazalieva wishes she would have known more about management and marketing when she just started out, including the necessary skills for finding clients and being able to recommend the products to the market.

Do you feel that you had the necessary advisory and support network when you started your company? 
There were no other fish production companies at the time Mrs. Nyazalieva started her busienss. Therefore, the network of the Business Incubator CWKR as well as the team of specialists, engineers and fishermen that  Mrs. Niyazalieva skillfully organized served as a supportive environment for her to achieve success.

What is your message to funders/supporters and what is your message to the users of your product?
Sincere gratitude goes to a vast network of supporters, with special thank to Zamira Akbagysheva, founder of the Business Incubator of the Congress of Women of the Kyrgyz Republic and an outstanding woman who has brought change to the lives of so many women of the Kyrgyz Republic! Special thanks also to Cholpon Aitakhunova, the Executive Director of the Congress of Women of the Kyrgyz Republic. As for the users: we are always happy to provide you with high-quality fresh products and will always serve our clients as a reliable partner.