KYRGYZSTAN TODAY Policy briefs on - Department of Geography

Jamilya Jeenbaeva,
Analyst of Ltd. DialectICON
Intersectoral <strong>Policy</strong> Making In Creating the New Middle
Class: A Case Study of Internal Migrants of Bishkek
Engaged in the Informal Sector
Overview and problem definition
Clear priorities face Kyrgyz national policies as Kyrgyzstan prepares for, and adapts
to, a variety of modern world’s challenges, which include global shortages of food
and energy, rising food prices, and rapidly-spreading global financial crises. Perhaps
the nation’s survival should be linked to capturing the momentum and drawing on
Kyrgyzstan’s internal resources. This could involve nurturing and supporting small and
medium entrepreneurs, increasing domestic investments, and motivating businesses
to create jobs, products, and services for local consumption. Thus, it is increasingly
important to clarify the role and place of entrepreneurs in Kyrgyzstan – specifically,
those of internal migrant entrepreneurs (also referred to as rural migrant entrepreneurs)
of Bishkek, which have grown both in numbers and in their widespread impact on the
national economy.
This paper proposes an analysis of internal migrants as a social category whose
qualities and historic tendencies could make it a new middle class. These qualities
include their entrepreneurial potential and increasing role as producers and consumers
of goods and services, a group that is interested in stability and steady economic growth.
In Bishkek, where more than one third of the population of Kyrgyzstan resides, these
internal migrants have changed the urban environment by joining the urban workforce
that provides goods and services, as well as becoming consumers and voters. They
continue being the most visible and effective actors in changing economic, social and,
eventually, political practices in the Kyrgyz capital.
This policy paper draws mainly on the cooperation between the development
consultancy DialectICON, public foundation Erayim, and the Bishkek mayor’s office.
This was possible during research and training projects called Opportunities for Legalising
Small Businesses of Self-Help Housing Districts of Bishkek (April-June 2008). This paper
targets the key actors in the provision of economic development, business support
structures, and urban services. It has several objectives: 1) to describe the internal
migrants engaged in Bishkek’s informal sector; 2) to raise public awareness of the
small migrant entrepreneurs and micro-financing practices of local NGOs, which keep
households out of poverty and help integrate rural migrants into the city life without
state social programmes or municipal support; 3) to challenge the misconceptions
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