National Venture Capital Fund UzVC has signed an agreement with global accelerator Techstars to bring an expanded Techstars Startup community Partnership to Uzbekistan, a strategic move designed to activate the local startup community and increase the flow of investable companies into the regional venture funnel.
The agreement between UzVC and Techstars marks a new milestone in the development of Uzbekistan’s venture capital and startup industry. This collaboration will provide Uzbek entrepreneurs and startups with access to international scaling standards, advanced business development methodologies, and a global network of professional contacts.
The partnership aims to create a comprehensive community to support innovative entrepreneurship, encompassing not only financial resources but also expert guidance, mentorship from leading industry specialists, and access to international markets. The partnership will contribute to improving the quality of startup projects and their competitiveness at the regional and global levels.
The initiative builds on an existing Techstars presence and community activity in Uzbekistan, which has seen multiple Techstars community programs and Startup Weekend events held across the country in recent years. Techstars’ global community programs — including Startup Weekend — have been active in Central Asia and in Uzbekistan since the late 2010s, helping founders develop early-stage ideas into teams and prototypes. The partnership will include launch of events and activities such as: Techstars Community Development Lab, Techstars Startup Digest, Techstars Startup Week and Techstars Startup Weekend.
Key targets and expected outputs of the partnership include:
- Up to hundred founders will be activated
- Up to hundred new ideas to be generated through outreach and events;
- Up to 20 startup companies to take part in Techstars Global pre-acceleration programs.;
- more than 200 mentors to be engaged from local and international networks;
- 15 events (meetups, hackathons, Demo Days and workshops) to be delivered across Uzbekistan.
Ultimately, these targets aim to increase the flow of startups ready for investment and enhance founder preparedness for advanced growth and securing capital
Execution and local delivery of the program will be led by partnering Hackonnect team, an events & programs company that has grown from Uzbekistan’s Techstars Startup Weekend community and local Startup Weekend organizers. Hackonnect will run the on-the-ground programming, community outreach and mentor coordination across cities.
“This partnership marks a historic milestone for Uzbekistan’s innovation journey. By partnering with Techstars, we are not only supporting local founders but also creating a bridge between the Uzbek startup community and the global. By increasing the capacity of our local startups with Techstars, we can increase the number of quality startups that can expand beyond the borders of our country and compete regionally and globally”, — Dilshod Khashimov, CEO of UzVC.
The initiative is open to strategic partners, corporates, universities, investor groups and international development partners seeking to support Uzbekistan’s startup community through sponsorship, mentorship and co-delivery of events. Interested organizations are invited to contact UzVC or Hackonnect for partnership opportunities.
About the partners
National Venture Capital Fund UzVC — UzVC is a government-backed venture fund of funds established to grow Uzbekistan’s venture capital market, anchoring local and foreign private VC funds, connecting local startups with domestic and international investors and implementing incubation and acceleration programs.
Techstars — Techstars is a leading global accelerator and startup community program operator; its community programs (including Startup Weekend) have run in hundreds of cities and supported thousands of founders worldwide.
