Tajik sportwear maker targets new markets through e-commerce

Amid Budo is the largest manufacturer of sportswear in Central Asia. The company specializes in kimonos for martial arts such as judo, sambo, tae kwon do, karate, jiu-jitsu, and hand-to-hand combat.

The company was founded in Khujand, Tajikistan in 1999 and originally made uniforms for the working class. Today it is famous throughout the region as a large manufacturer of martial arts outfits.

Their team spends many hours working hand-in-hand with professional athletes and newcomers to guarantee comfort and quality. Martial arts only have a niche following in Tajikistan, so they also sell to Kazakhstan, Europe and the United States.

In 2021, Amid Budo joined the ITC Ready4Trade project, funded by the EU, to find new markets through digital trade.

‘We support these businesses to go global through e-commerce,’ said Aijon Aliev, the Ready4Trade National Manager in Tajikistan. ‘Our project also works with the government in Tajikistan to improve the e-commerce infrastructure.’

With the support of the ITC ecomConnect programme, Amido Budo has learned how to sell online, received extended marketing and promotion support, upgrade its e-commerce website amid-budo.com, and set up new online stores on eBay, Ozon, and Wildberries.

‘We are excited to have this support to promote and sell online – it makes trade faster, easier,’ said Abdulmumin Sultonov, deputy director of Amido Budo. ‘We have now shipped products to a number of countries in Europe, North America, Australia, and even some exotic markets for Tajikistan, like Indonesia and South Africa.’

Supported by the project, the company strengthened its marketing and sales skills and built a regionally known and recognizable brand.

‘We plan to sustain our positions in the American and European markets, and soon our products will be available on Amazon, too,’ Sultonov said.

About the project

The Ready4Trade Central Asia project is a joint initiative of the European Union and the International Trade Centre. It aims to contribute to the overall sustainable and inclusive economic development of Central Asia by boosting intra-regional and international trade in the region. Beneficiaries of the Ready4Trade Central Asia project include governments, small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular women-led enterprises, and business support organizations.