Effectiveness of Consulting Services for Small Business Development: Survey Evidence from Namangan Region, Uzbekistan

Small businesses generate 73.6% of the gross regional product of Namangan region, yet the returns to the business consulting they buy have not been measured. This study evaluates the effectiveness of consulting services for small businesses and identifies the barriers to their use. A survey of 200 small business owners was conducted in October 2026 across all 12 cities and districts; 111 respondents had used consulting in 2024–2025 and 89 had not. Effectiveness was assessed with a self-reported return on investment (ROI), a difference-in-differences comparison, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, a logit model of consulting take-up and an entropy-weighted integral effectiveness index. The aggregate self-reported ROI was 140.6%, while the accounting records of a consulting firm gave a more conservative 110.1%. Consulting users grew revenue 7.4 percentage points and employment 16.6 percentage points faster than non-users; with controls the effects were 6.6 and 13.5 points (p < 0.001). The mean integral index was 0.459, so effects were uneven across firms. Lack of information about state support was the strongest barrier, reducing take-up probability by 12.1 points per scale point. A partially state-funded consulting voucher is shown to yield 1.29–2.07 UZS of additional profit per UZS of public funds.

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