When Uzbekistan gained independence in 1991, the country’s economy looked very different from today. Private business was only just beginning to take shape, the internet was not yet widespread, digital payments did not exist, and startups and venture capital were almost unheard of in the local business vocabulary.
Thirty-five years later, the picture has changed: private companies now form a significant part of the economy, Uzbekistan exports IT services to dozens of countries around the world, startups are attracting foreign investment, and fintech has become part of everyday payments.
To mark the 35th anniversary of independence, Pivot.uz has compiled the changes in Uzbekistan’s business and technology sector into 35 numbers.
One of the biggest shifts in Uzbekistan’s economy has been the expansion of opportunities for doing business.
Today the country has more than 400,000 active enterprises and organizations. This figure alone shows how far private enterprise has expanded in the economy.
1 — 442,400 active enterprises and organizations were recorded as of April 1, 2025.
2 — 446,900 enterprises and organizations were operating as of May 2025.
This shows that business activity can grow noticeably even within just a few months.
3 — 47.5%. That was the share of small business in GDP in January–June 2024.
In other words, small business in Uzbekistan’s economy is no longer a separate segment — it has become one of the main drivers of economic growth.
4 — As of July 1, 2025, the number of enterprises with foreign capital participation in Uzbekistan exceeded 16,600.
This points to the next stage: alongside the growth of local business, foreign capital is also flowing into the Uzbek market.
The next major shift is the digitalization of business.
Today, opening a company, selling products, advertising, working with customers, or exporting services abroad requires more than just a traditional office. Digital infrastructure has become part of the business model.
One of the clearest examples of this is IT Park.
5 — 2017. At that time, the export geography of IT Park residents covered only 8 countries.
6 — 102 countries. By the first half of 2026, IT Park residents were exporting IT services and digital products to that many countries.
In other words, export geography expanded more than 12-fold in roughly a decade.
7 — 1,050. The number of exporting resident companies at IT Park in the first half of 2026.
Of these, 315 operate outside Tashkent.
The important shift here is not just in the number of companies. Uzbekistan’s IT market is gradually moving from serving the domestic market to a model of selling services to the international market.
The tech business landscape is also changing. Alongside software development, BPO, KPO, GameDev, design, and other digital services are growing as well.
8 — In January–June 2026, 608 export-oriented companies became IT Park residents. That is 178% more than in the same period a year earlier.
9 — During the same period, 297 companies with foreign capital participation joined the IT Park ecosystem.
10 — Today the IT Park ecosystem includes companies from 75 countries.
11 — In the first half of 2026, 76% of the new residents that joined IT Park were engaged in IT services.
12 — Another 19% of the new residents operate in the BPO and KPO fields.
This means Uzbekistan’s technology market is no longer a sector measured only by the number of developers. It now also encompasses service exports, international companies, and new business models.
The newest layer of Uzbekistan’s business ecosystem is the startup market.
A few years ago, the word “startup” was mostly used in the context of tech projects and competitions; today, the main issue for local projects is raising capital and entering the global market.
13 — In 2025, the number of active startups in Uzbekistan was reported to have exceeded 600.
14 — $264 million. The volume of foreign investment attracted by Uzbek startups in the first seven months of 2025.
15 — $4.5 billion. The estimated value of the national startup ecosystem as of July 2026.
These figures show that the startup market is no longer just a collection of small experiments.
16 — $2 billion. The amount Uzbekistan aims to attract through venture capital investment in the coming years.
17 — $100 million. One of the funds earmarked to support startups and tech projects.
18 — 1,000. The target set for commercializing startup ideas created by young people.
19 — 200. The portion of those projects planned to be brought to the international market.
What matters here is that the state and private investors have started viewing startups not merely as “ideas,” but as an exportable product.
Technological change is not limited to business. Uzbekistan’s financial system has also become significantly more digital.
In 2024, the volume of transactions processed through the interbank payment system reached 7,279 trillion soums.
20 — 47.6 million. The number of operations carried out through the instant payment system in 2024.
21 — 441.7 billion soums. The volume of payments made via QR code.
Digital payments are no longer a separate service reserved for tech companies. They have become part of the infrastructure of trade, banking, transport, services, and everyday consumption.
22 — 46%. Nearly half of the money transfers that came into Uzbekistan in 2025 were sent to bank cards via P2P.
23 — $8.6 billion was the volume of funds transferred to cards through this channel.
24 — 1.4-fold. P2P transfers from abroad to bank cards grew by this much in 2025 compared with the previous year.
The growth of the fintech market doesn’t stop there. The Central Bank is also developing a strategy for financial technology development for 2026–2030.
Another important shift in Uzbekistan’s tech economy is its geography.
25 — In the first half of 2026, 138 companies with foreign capital participation launched operations outside Tashkent.
26 — During the same period, 257 new export-oriented companies registered in the regions.
The key resource for a tech business is not a building or a production line, but skilled talent.
That is why the spread of new companies into the regions could, in the future, lead to the IT and business services market taking shape outside Tashkent as well.
The next stage of IT exports is creating one’s own products. GameDev is an example of this.
27 — 75. The number of GameDev companies that were IT Park residents as of May 2026.
28 — $200 million. Uzbekistan’s video game exports were reported to have reached this figure in 2026.
The most striking figure, though, is the growth rate: gamedev exports grew 21-fold over three years.
This shows that Uzbekistan’s digital exports are no longer limited to outsourcing alone.
29 — 102. The number of countries to which Uzbek IT companies export services.
30 — 1,095. The number of companies with foreign capital participation at IT Park.
31 — 3,000+. The number of jobs that new foreign companies planned to create in the first half of 2026.
32 — 54%. The share of IT Park’s exports that went to North America in the first half of 2026.
33 — 16%. The share of the European Union and the United Kingdom in exports.
34 — 8%. The share of MENA countries.
These figures also show how the geography of Uzbekistan’s technology market is changing. Local companies are no longer working only for domestic demand — they are also serving customers in the US, Europe, the Middle East, and other markets.
And finally:
35 — 35 years.
Over this period, one of the biggest shifts in Uzbekistan’s economy has been a change in how business itself is viewed.
Today, entrepreneurship is not just trade or manufacturing. It also encompasses fintech, IT, GameDev, e-commerce, outsourcing, AI, and startups.
What will the next 35 years decide?
Uzbekistan’s next stage will be less about simply increasing the number of companies and more about building companies that can compete on a global scale.
Capital markets, venture investment, skilled talent, and technological products will all play an important role in this.
35 years is not just time. It is a period of major transformation in Uzbekistan’s economy, business, and technology.
Ahead lies a new stage: taking local companies to global markets, developing innovation, and building a new generation of businesses.
The Pivot.uz team sincerely congratulates everyone on the 35th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan!
May our country’s peace, our people’s prosperity, and Uzbekistan’s new achievements endure!
