WiSER Cares advances women’s leadership through UAE-Uzbekistan clean energy collaboration

• Five-day program brought together 10 WiSER Pioneers and five Uzbek women across Tashkent, Navoi and Samarkand
• Participants visited Masdar’s renewable energy projects and developed recommendations to help women-led businesses grow
• Applications now open for the 2027 WiSER Pioneers Program

WiSER, the global platform founded by Masdar and the Zayed Sustainability Prize, has concluded its 2026 WiSER Cares program in Uzbekistan, delivered in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The five-day program brought together 10 WiSER Pioneers and five Uzbek women, including representatives from the Uzbekistan Ministry of Energy and local engineers, to explore how clean energy development can create opportunities for women and communities.

Held from September 14-18 across Tashkent, Navoi and Samarkand, the program combined policy and industry discussions, visits to operational renewable energy projects and hands-on collaboration with women-led businesses.

The program also highlighted the growing UAE-Uzbekistan clean energy collaboration, with Masdar having committed more than US$2 billion to solar and wind developments in Uzbekistan.

Participants visited Masdar’s 500MW Zarafshan Wind Farm in the Navoi region and 220MW Samarkand Solar Project, meeting project teams to discuss delivery, grid integration, employment and the relationship between energy infrastructure and surrounding communities. They also worked with women entrepreneurs in Navoi and Samarkand on practical ideas for product development, enterprise growth and market access.

Community engagement was central to the program. In Zarafshan city, participants met women from a sewing and quilting workshop that provides regular work for five to six local women. In Samarkand, they engaged with Sanobar Opa, whose enterprise, Shamsiddin Bibixonim, produces traditional bakery and confectionery products. Working in groups, participants developed practical recommendations to help businesses attract customers and increase sales, including a customer outreach plan for the workshop and branding, packaging and digital marketing ideas for the bakery.

Participants also visited the traditional paper mill in Konigil Village, gaining insight into the preservation of Uzbekistan’s cultural heritage and traditional crafts.

he program concluded at the UNDP office in Tashkent, where the groups presented their recommendations and proposed action plans for the women-led businesses.

Dr Lamya Fawwaz, Chief Brand and Strategic Initiatives Officer and WiSER Program Director, said:

WiSER Cares gives emerging women leaders the opportunity to learn directly from the people and places driving the energy transformation. In Uzbekistan, our Pioneers visited operational clean energy projects and worked alongside women entrepreneurs on practical business challenges. This is exactly what the program is designed to do: build practical skills, broaden perspectives and create connections that can turn ambition into action.

UNDP experts contributed to sessions on inclusive leadership, women’s participation in decision-making and the role of business and technology in addressing sustainability challenges. According to a joint UNDP-OECD study, women hold just one in three green jobs across Europe and Central Asia, highlighting the need for more pathways into the sector.

The program provided participants with practical exposure to renewable energy development, inclusive leadership and community-based entrepreneurship, connecting international sustainability expertise with local priorities.

Akiko Fujii, UNDP Resident Representative in Uzbekistan, said:

An inclusive green transition depends on ensuring that women are not simply beneficiaries of green projects, but active leaders and decision-makers in shaping them.

Nouf Wazir, Head of Waste Management Section and 2026 WiSER Pioneer, said:

This week showed me that the energy transformation is not only about technology and infrastructure. It is also about people, livelihoods and whether communities have the tools to participate in new opportunities.

Rooted in WiSER’s core pillars of education, engagement and empowerment, WiSER Cares is the field-based component of the WiSER Pioneers Program. It introduces participants to sustainability challenges as experienced by communities in their daily lives, helping them develop the leadership skills, cultural awareness and collaborative mindset needed to advance inclusive and scalable solutions.

Applications are now open for the 2027 WiSER Pioneers Program, a year-long initiative for women aged 25 to 35 who are entrepreneurs or have at least two years of experience in sustainability, environment, energy or STEM-related fields. Participants receive tailored workshops, mentoring and global networking opportunities, including the annual WiSER Cares Program.

Registrations for the WiSER Pioneers Program 2027 are open now.

To apply, visit: wiser.ae