Deependra Chaulagain is the Director of Operations & Outreach at Samriddhi Foundation where he designs operational systems and oversees outreach programs. He joined Samriddhi Foundation in 2007 and is also a former President of Liberal Youth of South Asia (LYSA). He holds experience of designing and executing several national and international programs in youth politics and entrepreneurship.
Syeed Ahamed is a public policy analyst and CEO of the public policy think-tank— Institute of Informatics and Development (IID) that aims to make policy public.
Last year, CIPE began the first of a multi-phase program with IID. In the first phase, CIPE and IID selected 101 young people through an intensely competitive process to participate in this program. IID ensured participants represented diverse communities as well as local leadership from existing youth clubs, thereby maximizing the reach and impact of the program.
This year’s program focuses on invigorating the post-election reform agenda by giving a voice to young people from across the country and ensuring that national-level reformers are responsive to the concerns of youth.
Tajikistan, a country of approximately 9 million, is the poorest of the post-Soviet states. Remittances from labor migrants – over 1 million of whom travel to Russia each year for work – make up roughly 30% of GDP. In this context, Western narratives often neglect the business environment in Tajikistan for foreign companies as well as local entrepreneurs. As the former Executive Director of the AmCham and a specialist in digital and startup development, Ilhom Aliev is uniquely positioned to discuss the role of American and other Western companies in the country, explain the challenges local businesses face, and spotlight encouraging developments in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem such as a locally-funded startup accelerator.
Jaroslav Romanchuk is a leading free-market economist, advocate for the private sector, and voice for democracy throughout Eastern Europe and Eurasia, particularly in Belarus. As a longtime CIPE partner, he has built the capacity of business organizations to advocate reforms in challenging environments and helped CIPE to identify lessons applicable around the world.
This podcast focuses on Jaroslav’s work in Belarus, involvement with CIPE in Uzbekistan, and global trends to identify lessons applicable to those working in challenging environments.