Umida Karimova
The Path from a Home Workshop to Independent Production: Umida Karimova’s Story
From Home-based work to export markets: Umida Karimova’s entrepreneurial journey
Behind a growing business, there is rarely just one successful idea. More often, it is years of accumulated experience, mistakes, new attempts, and the determination to keep going even when circumstances force you to start all over again.
Umida Karimova’s story is no exception. She has been working in the textile industry for more than twenty years. However, building her own manufacturing business was far from easy. At one point, she was working from home with virtually nothing to start with, doubting her own abilities and unsure of how to develop her business effectively. Today, Umida runs her own manufacturing business, has entered export markets, expanded her team from 3 to 59 employees, and is already planning the next stage of her business’s growth.
Photo: HAMROH – Women’s entrepreneurship support company
When she had to start over
Before joining HAMROH, Umida’s team consisted of just three people: Umida herself, a cutter named Shukhrat, and his wife, Gulsina.
At the time, production had not yet been established as a fully-fledged business. Umida outsourced sewing orders to different workshops, handled sales herself, visited factories and markets during the day, and continued working late into the night.
Due to health issues, she was forced to leave her previous job. But she was not ready to give up.
She began working from home, with nothing but the materials she had left and her own experience in the sewing industry.
“I brought the materials home and spent a long time wondering what to do next. I decided to give it a try. My first attempt didn’t work out. But nothing happens on its own — you have to keep going.”
Although Umida had extensive experience in production, she gradually realised that knowing how to sew well was not enough to build a sustainable business.
She also needed the knowledge and skills to establish efficient workflows, scale up production, identify new markets, and make the right business decisions.
Meeting with HAMROH
A turning point in Umida’s journey came when she met with HAMROH. Representatives of the organization saw the products she was making and invited her to a meeting. During the conversation, she was asked a question:
“Is this for export?”
Umida explained that she was producing exclusively for the domestic market.
“They asked me, ‘Why aren’t you exporting?’ I told them honestly, ‘I don’t know how to do that.’ And they said, ‘We’ll help you.’”
That meeting became a turning point for Umida, helping her see the potential of her business in a new light.
“I will never forget that day. I stopped being afraid and thought, ‘So I can export my products too.’”
In a short period of time, she established her own production operations and began preparing her business for the next stage of growth.
About a month later, she successfully completed her first export order. The team, which had started with just three people, gradually expanded to 59 employees.
Building the Knowledge for the Next Stage
Umida became one of the first participants in the Women’s Entrepreneurship Support Programme (WESP).
By that time, she had already begun exporting her products. As a result, she was able to apply what she learned directly to her ongoing business operations. This allowed her to discuss real-life challenges with experts and analyse them as they arose.
“Every day, I would go to my mentor and ask, ‘This situation has just come up in my business. What should I do now?’ I would share everything that was happening in my business and receive the advice I needed.”
Later, Umida also took part in HAMROH’s mentoring programme.
One of the most important aspects for her was that the support did not end with a single training programme or consultation.
“They welcomed me into their support network. HAMROH has always stood by my business, providing guidance and support. Whenever I had a question, I knew exactly whom to turn to.”
Participating in these programmes also helped Umida expand her professional network. New connections gradually developed into partnerships, opening up additional opportunities for her business.
Five New Machines and New Orders
The next milestone came through a grant project jointly run by HAMROH and Uzum, in which Umida was selected as one of the winners.
She invested the grant funds directly into expanding her production capacity, purchasing five new sewing machines she had long wanted to buy but had previously been unable to afford.
The new equipment expanded her production capabilities.
Once the machines were installed, Umida secured a large order and successfully fulfilled it.
This experience reaffirmed an important lesson for her: support is especially valuable when it helps an entrepreneur solve a specific challenge and take their business to the next level.
An $11,000 Mistake
However, Umida’s journey has not been defined by success alone.
One of her most challenging experiences came during an early, serious attempt to enter foreign markets. Due to a lack of sufficient knowledge, she lost $11,000.
The products had already been manufactured, packaged, and transported to the border. Only upon arrival did she discover that the acceptance terms differed from what she had expected.
“I was so happy and thought everything had gone well. I had delivered the products to the border, only to be told there that they would be accepted by weight, per kilogram. I lost $11,000. It was a huge amount of money for me.”
Over time, Umida came to understand the importance of operating formally and ensuring that every stage of the process was clearly understood before entering into an agreement.
“If I had known at least the basics back then and understood how to operate properly in this field, I might not have lost that money.”
But the loss did not stop her.
“Someone else might have given up. But I told myself, ‘All right, let’s start over from scratch.’”
Today, Umida sees that experience as one of the most important lessons of her entrepreneurial journey.
That is why she emphasises the importance of continuous learning: businesses evolve, new challenges emerge, and entrepreneurs need to keep acquiring new knowledge to meet them.
The Next step - Hamroh Business School
Recently, Umida successfully completed her studies at Hamroh Business School.
This time, the main goal was not to start a business from scratch, but to determine its future direction.
The programme helped her gain a clearer understanding of the next stage of her business development and draw up a concrete action plan for the future.
“Once you enter export markets, you cannot simply say, ‘That’s it, I’ve done everything.’ The question ‘What comes next?’ immediately arises. As an entrepreneur, you always have a lot of questions.”
Today, Umida has a clear vision of her new goals and the steps she needs to take to further develop her production business.
From a Team of Three to 59 Employees
Umida’s story shows how a business can transform when an entrepreneur’s personal experience is combined with knowledge and timely support.
She started working from home with a team of just three people.
Today, she has achieved:
own production facility;
export markets;
team from 3 to 59 employees;
training through the WESP programme;
mentoring support from HAMROH;
a grant through the HAMROH and Uzum grant programme;
five new pieces of production equipment;
The Hamroh Business School programme;
a new plan for business growth.
However, Umida believes that the most important results cannot be measured in numbers alone. For her, the greatest achievement is learning not to give up after making mistakes and to turn every new question into another opportunity for growth.
“Success Is About Taking Action”
Through her experience, Umida wants to show other women that even a serious mistake or a significant loss does not have to mean the end of a business.
Sometimes, such experiences mark the beginning of a new chapter.
“Success is about taking action. If you have an idea, you need to get started. You need to take action and keep going.”
According to Umida, growth in business inevitably comes with challenging periods.
“There will always be challenges in business. Sometimes you go down, sometimes you rise. The most important thing is to get through those difficult periods.”
Today, Umida continues to develop her production business, work towards new goals and seek answers to new questions.
Her journey from working at home to establishing her own production facility and entering export markets has reinforced a simple belief: knowledge, determination and support can help turn even the most difficult experiences into new opportunities for growth.
