On September 25, 2025, Startup & Venture Summit 2025 took place at CAEX as part of ICT Week Uzbekistan — serving as a key platform for investment and partnerships in Central Asia. The event was organized by IT Park Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Digital Technologies of Uzbekistan in partnership with Plug and Play Tech Center.
The summit brought together more than 500 participants, including startups, venture funds, accelerators, corporations, government institutions, and international experts. The event became a catalyst for the integration of national startups into the global innovation ecosystem and for enhancing the region’s investment attractiveness.
Yoram Wijngaarde, Founder and CEO of Dealroom.co, addressed the audience on the growth of Uzbekistan’s economy through digital entrepreneurship and public-private partnerships.
“We have launched the global platform Uzbekistan.dealroom.com in partnership with IT Park Uzbekistan. It combines data on startups, investors, and innovation hubs across the country and provides access to the global ecosystem. This is a significant step toward positioning Uzbekistan as a new center for technology and entrepreneurship.”
During the panel discussion “Scaling Startups Across Borders”, speakers shared insights on international startup expansion. The session was moderated by Sascha Karimpour, Partner at Plug and Play Tech Center.
Robin Butler (Sturgeon Capital) emphasized that successful market entry is possible only with a clear understanding of market dynamics and alignment of the product with customer needs.
Christie Kanida (Alchemist Accelerator) elaborated on the accelerator’s approach, underlining the importance of communication culture and engagement with client feedback.
Ahmed Abbassa (Auzua Holding Group) underscored the significance of strategic partnerships and integration into local ecosystems, while also noting the rising interest in AI-driven bootstrapping, alongside the promising potential of fintech and deeptech sectors.
Sergio Argento, Founder of Argento > Ventures, discussed venture opportunities and investment strategies in the fast-growing markets of Central Asia.
“I prefer startups to first validate market traction before raising capital. Investment should support real results, not just ideas.”
Bakhtiyor Aliyev, Co-founder and CCO of Moneff (United Kingdom), delivered a case study in his presentation “Local Talents – Global Excellence, Founders Without Borders”, sharing insights on building a fintech startup in Europe and the challenges of scaling.
“We began with a team of four, and today we have more than 60 employees from 12 countries, one-third of whom are from Uzbekistan. The company has processed over $7 billion in transactions. My advice to young founders is not to hesitate in starting — local problems often hold global solutions.”
Obidjon Komiljonov, Co-founder and CTO of trestle, spoke about the company’s technological development, the implementation of Salesforce solutions for global clients, and his contribution to the growth of Uzbekistan’s IT community through mentorship.
“We built our company in Uzbekistan by placing trust in young talent. Today, our developers are delivering projects for leading global brands. Confidence in the country and its youth has made success and innovation possible.”
Jan Davidek, Partner at Purple Ventures, in his address “Investing in Emerging Markets — Central Asia: How VCs Assess Startup Potential”, shared practical insights on assessing the investment prospects of regional startups, including ventures in Uzbekistan.
“We see immense potential in emerging markets. Capital is more effective here, fostering sustainable innovation. We believe Central Asia can become a magnet for long-term investment.”
Charlie Morris, Economic Development Counsellor (Central Asia) at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, presented “Accelerating Venture Capital Ecosystem”, outlining the necessary steps for building an enabling environment for investors and funds — ranging from regulatory frameworks to infrastructure.
“Central Asia benefits from a young population and stable demographics — this is a key advantage. Yet for international investors, transparent regulations and ease of doing business are essential. These are the critical factors to unlocking the region’s full potential.”
During the Fireside Chat on Corporate Innovation, representatives of BILLZ, TBC, and payme shared their experience of working with startups and highlighted the role of corporations in Uzbekistan’s ecosystem.
Oliver Hughes (TBC Bank Group) underscored that Uzbek startups are becoming strategic partners capable of scaling local solutions internationally. Stanislav Skvirskiy (payme) focused on the importance of preserving entrepreneurial spirit and agility when entering new markets, while Rustam Khamdamov (BILLZ) emphasized the need to build strong teams and develop clear scaling strategies.
A key highlight of the summit was the strengthening of international cooperation. United Ventures announced the signing of two strategic memoranda — with Astana Hub Ventures and Yoshlar Ventures:
In addition, AloqaVentures announced a series of investments totaling $750,000 in Uzbek and regional startups. The investments were allocated as follows:
These investments will serve as a new impetus for the development of fintech, technological solutions, and digital services, while also reaffirming the growing interest of venture capital in Uzbekistan’s ecosystem.
A further highlight of the summit was the announcement that Tashkent will host the Central Eurasian Venture Forum (CEVF) in spring 2026 — the region’s premier venture capital event. For the first time, the forum will be held outside of Kazakhstan, debuting in Uzbekistan and bringing together investors, startups, corporations, and venture funds from the United States, Europe, South Korea, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Organized by MOST Holding and IT Park Uzbekistan with the support of the Ministry of Digital Technologies, the forum marks a milestone in Uzbekistan’s integration into the global innovation ecosystem. IT Park Uzbekistan CEO Abdulakhad Kuchkarov emphasized that hosting CEVF in Tashkent will reinforce the country’s position as a hub of technological development in the region.
One of the most significant outcomes of the summit was the announcement of the DOMiNO Uzbekistan Fund — the country’s first international private venture capital fund with foreign investment, totaling €20 million. The fund was established by DOMiNO Ventures (Netherlands) with UzVC serving as anchor investor and committing €10 million.
This new office represents the first European venture capital presence in Central Asia and symbolizes direct inflows of foreign capital into Uzbekistan. The fund will focus on investments in artificial intelligence, deeptech, and cleantech projects, supporting Uzbek startups in entering international markets and strengthening the region’s innovation potential.
The summit also marked the announcement of a strategic partnership: IT Park Ventures has joined the global network of AWS Activate Providers, becoming an official partner of Amazon Web Services in the region. This cooperation provides startups with access to AWS promotional credits of up to $10,000, exclusive offers, and the AWS Activate Console platform with scaling and international expansion tools.
This initiative enables Uzbek and regional founders to access the same technologies and infrastructure that underpin the success of global unicorns, thereby reinforcing Uzbekistan’s role as an emerging hub for entrepreneurship and venture investment in Central Asia.
In his closing address, IT Park Uzbekistan CEO Abdulakhad Kuchkarov highlighted the dynamic growth of the national ecosystem. He recalled that since the establishment of IT Park in 2017, the number of members has increased from four companies to more than 3,000, with growing representation from European, Korean, and Japanese enterprises. According to Kuchkarov, such growth has been made possible thanks to the dedication of the team, the trust of partners, and the openness of the ecosystem. He expressed gratitude to the summit participants and invited them to continue the dialogue at future ICT Week Uzbekistan events.
The summit also featured exclusive B2B meetings, fostering networking among startups, accelerators, corporations, consulting firms, and ecosystem stakeholders from across the globe.
Participants engaged in dynamic, pre-scheduled 20-minute sessions, enabling efficient use of time and a focus on identifying concrete solutions. The B2B format created opportunities for developing roadmaps, launching pilot projects, participating in international programs, and testing innovative technologies.
The Startup & Venture Summit 2025 became a landmark event for positioning Uzbekistan as a new center of innovation and venture investment, opening fresh opportunities for the country on the global stage.
Information partners of the events: Aniq.uz, Daryo.uz, Frank.uz, Kursiv, Nova 24, The Tech, UzbekFintech, Weproject, Vzglyad.uz, Oriat Dono radio station.
