A sewing workshop in the Abay region has become a pioneer of automation thanks to a grant from USAID, El.kz reports. This was announced on his Facebook page by entrepreneur Nurkhan Zhumabekov.
A small sewing workshop from the city of Abai, Kazakhstan, has revolutionized its industry by applying the Grafis computer-aided programming system to model clothes. CPS Grafis, which previously could only be afforded by large enterprises, has reduced the cutting time of one order from 3-4 days to only 3-4 hours.
In 2015, when the sewing workshop did not have its own orders and was working on a subcontract, the purchase of a Grafis CPS system for 15 thousand US dollars seemed like an impossible task. However, everything changed when they were awarded a grant from the USAID Central Asia program to diversify the economy of single-industry towns in Kazakhstan.
Thanks to this grant, entrepreneurs from the Abay sewing workshop were able to fulfill their dream and purchase Grafis CPS software. The new system has significantly improved production efficiency and significantly accelerated the process of creating clothes. Now the workshop successfully fulfills orders and establishes its business.
By the way, this was not the only grant that helped the company develop.
"4 years ago, we, with the last money, whitewashed half of the second floor of the factory in order to move to it, and today Mr. US Ambassador comes to us!" wrote Nurkhan Zhumabekov.
The hope for the prosperity of the company now does not depend on state support, and the sewing workshop continues its unique success story. Now it provides jobs to 100 residents of a single-industry town and proves that entrepreneurship and initiative can overcome any obstacles. According to Nurkhan Zhumabekov, now the company can hire not 100, but 1000 people.
The last visit of Mr. U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Daniel Nathan Rosenblum, to the Abay garment factory once again emphasized its important role in the development of the domestic light industry. Entrepreneur Nurkhan Zhumabekov expressed hope that in the future such successes will be the result of attention and support from the government of Kazakhstan, which will be able to see an example of successful small business development in the sewing workshop and stimulate similar initiatives in other regions of the