Uzbekistan: Investing in Central Asia's Largest-Scale Market

8 min read

Dariia VasylievaFounder & CEO, GETVISION

Uzbekistan is Central Asia's largest-scale market. It had 38.2 million people on January 1, 2026, according to its National Statistics Committee, and its economy grew 7.7% in 2025 to $147.1 billion. For an investor, that means the region's biggest pool of consumers, workers and future customers in one jurisdiction.

Scale in population is not the same as scale in venture capital. Uzbek startups raised $99.3 million in 2025, according to RISE Research, but $65.5 million of that was a single round for Uzum. Without it, the market was $33.8 million. The country is large. Its venture market is still young.

This market map covers what scale means in practice, the reform era since 2017, IT Park and its tax regime, development finance, the consumer and fintech opportunity, and currency. It ends with where scale helps and where it misleads. For the regional context, read the GETVISION ASIA thesis.

Key takeaways

Uzbekistan is the region's largest population and consumer base, with 38.2 million people at the start of 2026.
Venture funding reached $99.3 million in 2025, but one Uzum round made up about two-thirds of it.
IT Park offers tax exemptions until 2028 and relief to 2040 for exporters that earn more than half their income abroad.
Development finance is deep, and IFC has called Uzbekistan its largest portfolio in Central Asia.
Scale helps distribution and hiring, but currency, repatriation and thin late-stage capital decide returns.

What scale means in Uzbekistan

Three numbers frame the market. The population reached 38.2 million at the start of 2026, up 85% since independence, per the National Statistics Committee as reported by Kun.uz. GDP was $147.1 billion in 2025. Real growth was 7.7%, and the 2026 state budget assumes 6.6%.

Capital is following. Uzbekistan's Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade reported $43.1 billion of investment implemented in 2025, up 24%, of which $38.2 billion was foreign direct investment and $4.9 billion came from international financial institutions.

Scale changes the startup math. A consumer product that wins in Tashkent has a domestic market large enough to reach meaningful revenue before it has to cross a border. That is rare in Central Asia, and it is the core of Uzbekistan's role in our regional thesis.

The reform era since 2017

Uzbekistan's investment story begins with reform. The 2017 currency liberalization ended the old system of multiple exchange rates and made conversion for current transactions possible. That one change turned Uzbekistan from a market foreign investors avoided into one they could model.

Reform since then has followed a pattern: open a sector, create a regime, attract operators. IT services are the clearest example, with a dedicated park, a tax regime with a long horizon and a growing base of foreign-owned residents.

The government is now setting explicit venture targets. According to reporting from the 2026 Central-Eurasian Venture Forum in Tashkent, official goals include 5,000 startups by 2030 and $2 billion in venture investment.

Targets are not outcomes. They do show where state attention, and often state co-investment, will flow.

IT Park Uzbekistan and its regime

IT Park is the main gateway for tech companies. It had more than 3,400 member companies by the end of 2025, including over 970 with foreign capital, exporting IT services to 90 countries, according to IT Park. Two years earlier, IT Park reported about 1,600 residents.

The regime is generous but conditional. This summary draws on IT Park's January 2026 guide and EY's review of the October 2024 presidential decree.

Element	Rule for residents	Until
Corporate income tax, VAT, social tax	Full exemption	January 1, 2028
Employee income tax	7.5% instead of the standard 12%	Current regime
Dividends to foreign shareholders	5% if exports exceed half of income	January 1, 2040
Exporters (over 50% of revenue abroad)	Relief on all taxes except VAT after 2028	January 1, 2040
Customs on imported tech equipment	Exempt	January 1, 2040

The catch is the export test. Under Decree UP-157 of October 2024, as summarized by EY, the extension of benefits past 2028 and the 5% dividend rate apply only to residents that earn more than half their income from exports. A domestic consumer startup and an export software house therefore sit in very different tax positions after 2028.

For investors, this shapes the business model you back. Export-led software companies get the longest runway of relief. Domestic consumer companies should be underwritten on full-tax economics from 2028.

Development finance and fund capital

Development finance institutions are a large part of Uzbekistan's capital stack. IFC reported a record $1.568 billion invested and mobilized in Uzbekistan in fiscal 2023, its highest since it began work there in 1993, and called the country its largest portfolio in Central Asia. In July 2026, IFC made its first Catalytic First Loss Guarantee in the country, covering about $100 million equivalent of small-business loans through Ipak Yuli Bank, as UzDaily reported.

The venture fund base is growing from a low start. According to reporting on the 2026 Central-Eurasian Venture Forum, Uzbekistan has more than 750 active startups and 15 venture funds with over $180 million in capital, and its startup and venture ecosystem was valued at $3.9 billion. RISE Research reports that seven new funds launched in 2025.

Who funds those deals matters. RISE found that about 85% of Uzbek venture investment excluding Uzum came from local funds and state structures. Uzbek startups are also visible in regional programs: seven of the 13 EBRD Star Venture finalists cited at the 2026 forum came from Uzbekistan. For how these institutions co-invest, see our piece on DFIs as co-investors.

Consumer and fintech: where the money went

The clearest proof of scale is Uzum. The e-commerce and fintech group raised $65.5 million at a $1.5 billion valuation in August 2025, and $131.5 million in March 2026 at a $2.3 billion valuation, according to The Times of Central Asia. Investors named include Tencent, VR Capital, FinSight Ventures and Omani sovereign wealth funds.

Uzum shows what scale makes possible: a platform that combines marketplace, payments and lending for a large domestic consumer base. It also shows how concentrated the market is. One company accounts for most of the capital.

The opportunity sits in the layers around the leaders.

Embedded finance for merchants and sellers on marketplaces.
SME lending and payments infrastructure, where DFIs are already providing guarantees.
Logistics and fulfillment that serve e-commerce outside Tashkent.
B2B software for retailers, distributors and agribusiness, often export-ready under IT Park rules.
AI applications built on local language data and local workflows.

Currency and repatriation

Scale earns returns in som. Investors count in dollars. The gap between the two is the most underestimated risk in the market, and it deserves its own section in every investment memo.

Work through five questions before you sign.

What currency does revenue come in? Export-led IT companies earn hard currency. Consumer companies earn som.
How will dividends leave? Map the route from the operating company to the holding company, including withholding tax. For IT Park residents with mostly export income, dividends to foreign shareholders are taxed at 5% until 2040.
Where will the exit happen? A sale of shares at the level of a foreign holding company avoids converting exit proceeds inside Uzbekistan, but it requires the holding structure to be in place early.
Which treaty applies? Double tax treaties change the cost of dividends and gains. Confirm the position with counsel in each jurisdiction.
What is the downside case? Model a meaningful som depreciation and check whether the company still meets its covenants and runway.

None of this is a reason to avoid Uzbekistan. It is a reason to price it properly. Our framework for pricing currency, country and exit risk goes into the mechanics.

Where scale helps and where it misleads

Scale is a real advantage. It is also the easiest number to over-read.

Where it helps: Distribution. A product can reach meaningful revenue domestically before it expands, which lowers the cost of proving demand.

Where it misleads: Purchasing power. Population is not spending, and consumer startups should be judged on revenue per user, not users.

Where it helps: Hiring. A large workforce feeds IT Park companies and keeps engineering costs competitive.

Where it misleads: Venture depth. With 85% of non-Uzum investment coming from local funds and state structures, follow-on capital for Series A and beyond is thin.

Where it helps: Policy attention. Explicit startup targets bring state programs and co-investment.

Where it misleads: Headline totals. One company can make a country's year, so judge the market on deal counts and medians.

Frequently Asked Questions

It is the region's largest consumer market, with 38.2 million people and 7.7% growth in 2025, and its venture market is growing from a low base. The best opportunities combine domestic scale with export revenue or dollar-linked economics.

According to IT Park, residents are exempt from corporate income tax, VAT and social tax until January 1, 2028, and employees pay 7.5% income tax. Exporters with over half their revenue from abroad keep relief on all taxes except VAT until 2040, and founders should confirm eligibility with a tax adviser.

RISE Research reports $99.3 million in 2025, including Uzum's $65.5 million round. Excluding Uzum, the total was $33.8 million, more than 11 times the 2022 level.

Since the 2017 currency liberalization, conversion for current transactions is possible, and dividends to foreign shareholders of export-led IT Park residents are taxed at 5% until 2040. The exact route, withholding taxes and treaty position depend on the structure, so confirm with counsel before investing.

Uzbekistan's National Statistics Committee put the population at 38.2 million on January 1, 2026. That is up 85% since independence in 1991.