Up to 40,000 pieces of men’s, women’s and children’s clothing per day will be produced at Pasadena Moda’s new garment factory in Aravan in the Kyrgyz Republic, with equipment provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The U.S. government’s partnership enabled the factory to employ more than 100 people, mostly local women. Sonata Coulter, chargé d’affaires ad interim of the U.S. Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic, presided over of the equipment handover, together with Ziyadin Jamaldinov, plenipotentiary representative of the president of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Osh Region, and Seitek Kulubaev, head of Aravan Rion Administration.
Coulter noted that this apparel factory is one of the many businesses the United States supports across the Kyrgyz Republic.
“Just in the last four years, we helped over 120 Kyrgyz businesses grow, increase their sales, access new markets and, most importantly, create over 18,000 new permanent and seasonal jobs,” she said.
Pasadena Moda received overlock, coverstitch, straight line and other machines through the USAID Enterprise Competitiveness Project. In the next three years, the company plans to expand further and hire up to 500 more people.
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“The company is effectively contributing to the reduction of migration flow, enabling a number of fellow countrywomen, our sisters, to live and work in their home country with their families and lead a decent life,” said Pasadena Moda owner Azimkul Zholdubaev.
Pasadena Moda is a well-established company in the Kyrgyz Republic. Initially operating in a domestic-only market, the company now fulfills orders for major retail chains and supermarkets across the region. Pasadena Moda’s knitwear is certified to meet international quality standards.
The Central Asian country saw its real gross domestic product grow 4.6 percent to $31.02 billion in 2020, according to the CIA World Factbook. Also known as Kyrgyzstan, it is lower-middle-income country with an economy dominated by minerals extraction and agriculture. Cotton, wool and meat are the main agricultural products, although only cotton is exported in any quantity, the World Factbook noted.
USAID works with small and medium-sized businesses in the areas of textiles, food production, agriculture, IT and finance to help them expand their production, meet international standards to qualify for exports and create more jobs in the Kyrgyz Republic.