Current aspects of digitalization in Uzbekistan
In recent years, Uzbekistan has been actively implementing a strategy called "Digital Uzbekistan 2030". This 15-page document is a ten-year action plan aimed at creating a modern and efficient digital infrastructure. It’s main goal is to ensure sustainable economic development and improve the quality of life of the population.
The plan includes more than 220 priority projects covering various fields, from education and healthcare to financial services and public administration. The implementation of these projects will significantly increase the level of digitalization in the country.
As part of digitalization, important tasks were set for Uzbekistan. One of them was the creation of the Digital Trust Foundation. His goal was to attract investments in digital economy projects, including those related to blockchain technologies.
However, it was subsequently decided to liquidate this fund and transfer its functions to the National Agency for Project Management. This indicates a desire to find more effective ways to manage and implement innovations.
The success of digitalization in Uzbekistan can be seen in a number of impressive indicators. Thus, the number of digital public services provided through the Unified Portal of Interactive Public Services (EPIG) has increased by more than three and a half times. This suggests that citizens have become faster and easier to receive the services they need.
In addition, the number of online banking users in Uzbekistan has reached 34 million people. This indicates the rapid development of financial technologies and increased confidence in digital platforms.
One of the key success factors is the growth of IT services exports, which increased 50 times and reached 40 million US dollars. This not only demonstrates the demand for Uzbek IT services abroad, but also reflects the overall positive trend in the development of domestic IT companies.
It is also worth noting the significant progress in the field of Internet connectivity. In 2023, according to international rankings, Uzbekistan ranked 131st in terms of broadband Internet speed, ahead of other Central Asian countries and showing a noticeable increase of 24 positions compared to the previous year.
Uzbekistan is actively implementing digital technologies, creating conditions for the transition to a new digital economy. This process includes a whole range of measures aimed at integrating digital technologies into various industries and spheres of life. Regular investments in technological infrastructure contribute to improving the efficiency of public services, the development of e-commerce and digital entrepreneurship.
The development of human capital plays an important role in the process of digital transformation. In Uzbekistan, considerable attention is paid to the training of IT specialists and improving the computer literacy of the population. Special attention is paid to young people and students, for whom educational programs are being developed and specialized centers for the study of information technology are being opened.
As a result, a favorable environment is being formed in the country for startups and innovative companies, including in the field of high technology. As practice shows, such an environment can become the basis for the growth and prosperity of the digital economy, creating new jobs and attracting foreign investment.
The active introduction of digital technologies into the social sphere allows us to solve many social problems. Online education, telemedicine, and digital tools to support small and medium-sized businesses are all aimed at improving the quality and accessibility of services for the population.
Uzbekistan is actively working to ensure cybersecurity, which is becoming increasingly important in the digital age. Reliable protection of data and information systems plays a key role in the provision of electronic public services and the management of critical infrastructures.
Systematic work in all areas of digital policy creates a solid foundation for the further development and integration of Uzbekistan into the global digital space. The country is strengthening its position as a regional leader in the field of information technology.
The current trends of digitalization of Uzbekistan are presented below, supported by statistical data:
- At the beginning of 2024, the Internet penetration rate reached 83.3%.
- In January 2024, the number of Internet users amounted to 29.52 million people.
- Today, 8.70 million people are active users of social networks.
- At the beginning of 2024, there were 33.81 million mobile subscriber connections in Uzbekistan. In the same year, the share of mobile traffic was 70.60%, while the share of desktop traffic was 28.83%.
- According to forecasts, in 2024, the volume of investments in the digital sphere will reach a record 406 billion soums. Over the past four years, the number of digital public services provided through the Unified Public Services Portal (EPIG) has increased 3.5 times. The number of online banking users has reached 34 million.
- In 2020, the Government of Uzbekistan approved the strategic document "Digital Uzbekistan — 2030", which includes comprehensive measures to digitize all spheres of society and the state apparatus. A separate roadmap has been developed for each region, which makes it possible to clearly coordinate the process of digital transformation.
An important step was the adoption of the presidential decree on the development of the digital economy and e-government on April 28, 2020. This decision laid the foundation for future transformations and identified concrete steps to further strengthen the digital infrastructure.
The effectiveness of digital reforms in Uzbekistan is reflected in international digitalization ratings. In particular, the following indicators can be distinguished:
- GovTech Quality Index. In the field of public services, Uzbekistan ranked 43rd in the world, rising by 37 positions since 2020.
- UN e-government Rating (e-government Survey). By the end of 2022, Uzbekistan rose by 18 places and became one of the countries with a "high/very high level of development".
- The Government Artificial Intelligence Readiness Index, developed by the British organization Oxford Insights. Over the past 4 years, Uzbekistan has risen from 158th to 79th place.
- Telecommunications Infrastructure Index (TII). Uzbekistan is characterized by a high level of TII development and ranks 19th among 220 countries in terms of the cost of broadband Internet.
IT companies in the Uzbekistan today
Since the beginning of 2024, IT companies in Uzbekistan have exported services worth $ 200 million, which indicates a 20% increase in volumes in this area. In the first four months of this year, about 5,000 new jobs in the IT industry appeared in the country. At the same time, 80% of specialists live in Tashkent, which makes the capital the center of concentration of the main share of services. There are about 2 thousand IT companies operating in Uzbekistan, employing about 30 thousand people. In addition, more than 70 thousand specialists work in this field independently.
It is planned to increase the export of IT services to $ 5 billion.
Well-known IT companies are actively developing in Uzbekistan, including:
- Fido Biznes is one of the largest developers and suppliers of information systems and technological solutions in the country. The company cooperates with more than 60 representatives of the public sector of financial services. According to forecasts, in 2024 its net profit will be about 2.3 million rubles.
- Cyberspace Development Centre is an IT company founded in 2019. Specializes in the installation and maintenance of SAP and MES systems in production. As of 2024, the company employs more than 300 highly qualified specialists. Cyberspace Development Centre offers unique solutions in the field of marketing promotion through video games and esports. For example, a company can create a turnkey team capable of representing the customer's interests at both Russian and international tournaments.
- Alif Tech is a subsidiary of Alif Holdings Limited, located in the United Kingdom. She develops Fin-Tech solutions that help make payments, money transfers and online purchases in installments in more than 3,500 stores throughout Uzbekistan. Alif Tech employs over 250 employees.
- Venkon Group is a leader in the 1C software market, which specializes in automation of accounting, management accounting and business processes. By 2024, the company has automated more than 10,000 enterprises and provides services to more than 450,000 companies.
- Fom Group is a company that develops IT systems for automating the pharmaceutical market. It unites all the players of the digital farm retail in Tashkent. Fom Group offers its own marketplace where pharmacies can order medicines to their warehouse in a few clicks, having access to the catalog of more than 200 distributors for the current year.
Foreign IT companies such as Meta, Google, Apple, OpenAI, Dyninno and Cisco are also represented on the Uzbek market.
Uzbekistan is demonstrating impressive progress in the field of information technology, launching many successful IT projects and startups. Among them:
- Depozit.uz is a service that offers a wide range of banking and financial services and products, allowing you to compare and order them. More than 100,000 active users visit this site every day.
- IMAN Invest is a financial technology startup that operates on the basis of the principles of Islamic finance. IMAN Invest received investments from the international fund and the 500 Global accelerator.
- Tass Vision is a startup that creates products that increase sales to large network retailers. The company has successfully passed the international technological acceleration program Silkway Accelerator. TASS Vision provides a detailed conversion analysis, allowing you to track the path of each potential customer from entering the store to leaving it. In addition, the company offers services that help marketing teams make informed decisions based on traffic analysis and demographic data such as gender and age.
- TASS Vision allows you to analyze the conversion rate for individual product lines (SKUs), measure the efficiency of each square meter and visualize the most active and inactive areas inside the store. At the time of the third quarter of 2024, more than 700 stores were connected to the TASS Vision system.
It is also worth mentioning several startups that have attracted investments and achieved success in their field:
- Mohirdev is a startup that attracted funding from the AloqaVentures Foundation and successfully represented Uzbekistan at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023. For 2024, the startup has raised more than $450,000.
- Pastoral AgroTech is a company creating a platform for regenerative animal husbandry, which received investments from the UzVC venture fund.
- kpi.com — A startup specializing in business process automation, which has raised $200,000 from the AloqaVentures venture fund.
- Tahrirchi is a startup created by students of Inha University in Tashkent, which aims to help people write correctly in Uzbek. This year, the startup became a Microsoft partner and got the opportunity to publish its plugins in their store. In 2024, Tahrirchi won the mGovAward competition, where he received $50,000 in investments.
- Modme CRM Edtech is a startup that has successfully entered the Indonesian market and raised $100,000 with a company valuation of 1.2 million. The investor was the UzVC fund.
The best IT projects created in Uzbekistan:
- One of the most significant IT projects in Uzbekistan is the Unified Portal of Interactive Public Services . Launched in July 2013, this portal has become the most important platform for online services for citizens and businesses. With the help of the Unified Portal of Interactive Public Services, you can issue various documents, including passports, driver's licenses, register a business and receive many other services. The portal has significantly simplified the processes, reduced their execution time and made public services more transparent and accessible.
- The second significant project was the One Million Uzbek Coders program, which started in November 2019. It is aimed at free training of young people from Uzbekistan in programming and IT specializations, which should contribute to the training of qualified personnel for the field of information technology. The program offers online courses at various levels — from beginner to advanced — in areas such as web development, mobile development, game programming, artificial intelligence and many others. Cooperation with well-known educational platforms and technology companies enhances the effect of training and expands employment opportunities for graduates of the program.
These projects demonstrate Uzbekistan's desire to develop the digital economy and increase the level of knowledge and skills in the field of information technology among the country's population.
Modern problems and challenges
In the process of digitization in Uzbekistan, a number of problems and challenges arise that must be overcome in order to successfully implement the digital transformation of the country.
One such problem is uneven access to high-speed Internet, especially in remote and rural areas. This makes it difficult to fully implement digital technologies and limits the possibilities of obtaining online services for all segments of the population.
There is also an acute shortage of qualified personnel in Uzbekistan. The One Million Programmers program is aimed at solving this problem, but there are still not enough experienced IT specialists and cybersecurity professionals. This becomes an obstacle to the development and implementation of complex technological solutions.
Another important issue is data security. With the growth of digital information, the threat of cyber attacks is also growing. Creating a reliable data protection system requires significant investments and the development of appropriate legislation.
Moreover, digitalization requires a revision of many regulations, which, in turn, entails changes in the legal system that must meet new economic and social conditions.
There is a risk of widening the gap between those who have access to digital technologies and those who, for economic or social reasons, are deprived of such an opportunity. This can lead to social exclusion and further deepen inequality.
Digital transformation involves changing administrative processes and working methods, which can cause resistance from employees and managers who are accustomed to traditional approaches.
Overcoming the established habits and beliefs associated with traditional ways of doing business and receiving public services requires large-scale educational programs and information campaigns for the population.
To solve these problems, an integrated approach is needed, which includes infrastructure modernization, investments in education and professional development, strengthening cybersecurity measures, as well as an active information policy and the involvement of citizens in the process of digital transformation.
Conclusion
Uzbekistan is actively moving towards digital transformation, receiving support at the state level. The country has every chance to become one of the leading players in the field of information technology in the region.
The digital component of the economy is steadily growing due to reforms, programs and initiatives aimed at strengthening the digital infrastructure and increasing demand for IT specialists.
The use of information and communication technologies has a significant impact on economic systems and society as a whole, and the Internet plays a key role in this process. The introduction of new digital technologies often leads to increased labor productivity and economic efficiency, which, in turn, contributes to social change.
Digitalization has become a key factor contributing to the formation of new growth points and the achievement of social transformations. It is a source of innovation that generates new business models and opens up horizons for the development of trade, logistics and production.
These transformations lead to the transformation of socio-economic relations in society, accelerating decision-making processes and contributing to the dynamic development of society. For example, the Unified Portal of Interactive Public Services (EPIGU) has significantly simplified and accelerated citizens' access to necessary services.