When native Kyrgyz Pavel Urusov (Paul) is not working for BPN in Switzerland or Kyrgyzstan, he enjoys spending time with his family in the mountains and in nature. Paul has been involved with BPN since its inception in 1999. Find out in the interview how his career with BPN began and what still motivates him after 15 years of service.
Paul, how did you come to be involved with BPN?
I came into contact with BPN through a contact with the founder of BPN, Jürg Opprecht, and the Kyrgyz entrepreneur Sergej, because I was on assignment as a translator for a meeting between the two. I was so impressed by BPN that I asked directly if I could help to set up the foundation's branch in Kyrgyzstan. I translated the first seminars and took over administrative tasks. I also put BPN in touch with the first professional accountant the foundation hired in Kyrgyzstan, and that accountant still serves BPN today as the head of an external audit firm. I have grown from assistant to executive director, and have learned much more at BPN than during my 2 educations at university.
5 years later, in 2004, you had the opportunity to visit Switzerland for the first time in your life. What was it like?
The trip to Switzerland with a delegation of Kyrgyz entrepreneurs visiting Swiss companies was a "journey into the future". I was very impressed by the potential and the vision I saw for my home country of Kyrgyzstan. This experience left its mark on me and I can still see today how such exchange trips act like a "motivational rocket" for the participating entrepreneurs.
You worked as an independent financial advisor in Germany for several years before returning to BPN. What is your current area of work at BPN?
Yes, after the second revolution I moved from Kyrgyzstan to Germany in 2012 and worked as an independent financial advisor for a few years. However, I continued to maintain contact with BPN during this time. Since re-joining BPN in 2018, I have become more closely associated with the company again and now work 100% for BPN. My work area is split about 50:50 between working for BPN in Switzerland and BPN in Kyrgyzstan. In Kyrgyzstan, I am mainly responsible as an expert for the further expansion of the site in the south of the country, in Osh. Here in Switzerland, I prepare cross-country reports, statistics and evaluations, and work on grant applications to foundations.
How has BPN changed since 1999?
A lot has changed since I joined BPN. One of the biggest changes has been the professionalization of BPN's processes and the introduction of a comprehensive CRM database. We have also increased the number of seminars in Kyrgyzstan and now offer around 25 different topics, including digital topics. Digitalization has enabled us to make decisions more quickly and improve communication, for example when selecting new programme participants. Overall, digitalization has had a major impact on BPN and has enabled us to improve our service and increase our reach.
I have also noticed that the level of entrepreneurs is constantly rising and competition in the country is growing, which is leading to healthy competition. Entrepreneurs today have a higher level of basic education than in the past. The roads in the city of Bishkek are also much better developed today than they were 20 years ago.
What motivates you to remain so committed to BPN even after such a long time?
I am very motivated by the opportunity to serve the country and the people of Kyrgyzstan. I want to help improve my country, reduce corruption and promote good, secure jobs at Swiss standards. It is very inspiring for me to witness changes in entrepreneurs personally and in business. When I see how successfully their companies are growing and how grateful the participants are for our support, it really motivates me. I would also like to pass on these thanks to our founder and to all former and current employees and partners who have contributed to BPN's activities and supported us in any way. My professional motto is: "You must serve fairly in order to earn." BPN's value orientation is very important to me personally, and I am pleased that we will be paying even more attention to this topic in the future. I am convinced that this will enable us to make a contribution to the fight against corruption in the country.
