Uzbekistan’s Central Bank has officially established “Silk Road Venture”, a venture fund dedicated to providing direct equity investment to early-stage FinTech startups at the Seed and Series A levels. The fund was created under Presidential Decree No. PQ-359, signed on November 27, 2025, as part of the country’s broader push to build an institutional venture ecosystem. Its target capitalization stands at $50 million, with an initial authorized capital of 70 billion UZS. To lead the fund’s strategic development and support the international scaling of local startups, globally recognized FinTech architect Sopnendu Mohanti has been engaged as a senior advisor.
Decree PQ-359 lays out Uzbekistan’s digital finance roadmap for 2026–2030, targeting the attraction of $1 billion in venture capital and foreign direct investment into the FinTech and startup sector. The decree also calls for growing the number of active ecosystem participants — including startups, incubators, and accelerators — to a minimum of 200, while integrating next-generation infrastructure such as Open Banking and regulated stable digital assets into the national financial system.
Silk Road Venture
Incorporated as an LLC under the Central Bank, Silk Road Venture is structured as a classic venture fund — not a grant program or a revolving credit facility. Its mandate is to take equity stakes in high-growth startups and actively prepare them for follow-on funding rounds. The fund’s investment focus spans:
- FinTech and payment infrastructure
- B2B SaaS platforms
- Blockchain and asset tokenization ventures
Alongside capital, the fund brings hands-on operational expertise and direct access to international investor networks — a combination that has been largely absent from Uzbekistan’s startup ecosystem until now.
Accelerating talent: The Innovation Hub
Running in parallel with the fund, an Innovation Hub is being established as an unincorporated technology accelerator for founders. One of its flagship initiatives is a state co-financing scheme, under which up to 50% of costs — capped at $20,000 per team — for internationally accredited certifications and upskilling programs will be covered by the government. The initiative is designed to systematically close the talent gap that has long constrained the country’s startup pipeline.
Silk Road Venture represents a structural shift in how Uzbekistan approaches startup development — moving from ad hoc support programs to a fully institutional, equity-driven model backed at the highest levels of government. For founders building in the region, the message is straightforward: patient capital, world-class advisory, and a direct pathway to global markets are now part of the same ecosystem.
