Digital Strategies of Uzbekistan

Ekaterina Liasko

CEO at Global CIO

The Global CIO editorial team continues its series of articles on the conditions in which the IT business operates in different countries. We spoke with our partners about the development of the IT sector in their countries, specific challenges and opportunities they face, as well as the key success factors in each market. Today, we present one of the fastest-growing economies in Central Asia – The Republic of Uzbekistan. The Republic of Uzbekistan is one of the largest states in Central Asia.

Roman Yashin, Regional Director for Central Asia at Softline Group, will share his insights about the region and provide more details about the IT sector in Uzbekistan.

What are the three most important facts about the country to know?

Heavy dependence on foreign investment. The Republic of Uzbekistan is one of the largest states in Central Asia. Uzbekistan is an agrarian-industrial country. Uzbekistan's GDP increased to 6.0% in real terms by the end of 2024. In 2024, the volume of FDI in the economy of Uzbekistan reached $11.9 billion. This is 53.6% more than in 2023, when the figure was estimated at $7.7 billion. The share of FDI in the structure of Uzbekistan's GDP in 2024 was 10.3% against 7.9% a year earlier. Uzbekistan is a member of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), World Bank, Islamic Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and Eurasian Development Bank (EDB). Since the beginning of cooperation with the EBRD, Uzbekistan has received five billion euros.

Young population and rapid population growth. In 2024, the permanent population of Uzbekistan reached 37.5 million people, which is 2% more than in 2023. In the next five years, Uzbekistan’s population will grow to 40 million.

The share of the urban population reached 51%. The average age of the population is 27.1 years.

Deep ties with Russia. Russia is one of the key trading partners (2nd place in trade turnover after China), cooperation within the CIS. Trade turnover between Russia and Uzbekistan in 2024 exceeded $ 10 billion, which is almost twice as much as 6 years ago. The leaders of the two states set the task of increasing the volume of mutual trade to $ 30 billion by 2030. From January 2025, Uzbekistan received the status of a BRICS partner. After joining the EDB, Uzbekistan will receive 10% of the capital in the financial institution. More than 3 thousand joint ventures created with the participation of companies from Russia are successfully operating in Uzbekistan, including in mechanical engineering, oil and gas, energy and other industries, including subsidiaries of Lukoil, Gazprom, Rostselmash, Eurocement, etc.

What is the volume and development forecast of the IT market for the next 5 years?

It is noted that the ICT industry of Uzbekistan demonstrates a sustainable positive dynamic. Stable growth is due to the digitalization of the economy, development telecommunications infrastructure and increasing demand for IT services.

According to the results of 2024, the volume of communication and informatization services in Uzbekistan amounted to 56.17 trillion soums (about $4.4 billion).

Thus, an increase of 43.8% was recorded. In 2024, the volume of telecommunications services has grown by 16% and reached 21 trillion soums. An ambitious government program aimed at developing a national information-communication system and upgrading communications infrastructure to the 5G standard creates increasing demand for IT solutions in both the public and private sectors of the economy. The government adopted its “Digital Uzbekistan – 2030 Strategy” in October 2020 to intensify work in this direction.

What national strategic and digital initiatives have been adopted in the country?

Doing business. Throughout 2024, the average annual business climate indicator in Uzbekistan was at the level of 42 points, according to the report of the Center for Economic Research and Reforms (CERR). This indicator indicates a positive state of the business environment in the republic. As of late summer 2025, there were more than 16.6 thousand companies opened with the participation of foreign capital in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan's economic policy continues to attract foreign investment, contributing to an increase in the number of international enterprises and strengthening ties with other countries. This not only stimulates economic development, but also creates new jobs and opportunities for local businesses.

Digital economy. President of the Republic in 2020 signed a decree on approval of the strategy "Digital Uzbekistan – 2030." The country is implemented comprehensive measures for the active development of the digital economy, as well as a wide introduction of modern ICT in all industries and spheres, primarily in public administration, education, health care and agriculture.

The goal digitalization is to turn the country into a regional IT hub.

To do this, IT parks are organized in all regions, work is carried out to increase the bandwidth of communication channels and expand coverage internet infrastructure.

Startup ecosystem. The IT park in Uzbekistan plans to develop a business incubation, acceleration and venture financing program, which will help launch promising IT companies. By the end of 2025, the number of IT Park residents is planned to be increased to 3 thousand. In February 2025, the Russoft Association and IT Park Uzbekistan signed a cooperation agreement. The document provides for the development of partnerships between Russian and Uzbek IT companies, as well as the strengthening of their positions in the markets of Central Asia. The Strategy "Uzbekistan - 2030" defines the task of turning Uzbekistan into a regional IT hub. Within the framework of this goal, digital technologies are consistently developing: IT parks have been organized in all regions, opportunities for training and work in this area have expanded. Venture fund IT Park Ventures began work in Uzbekistan in December 2024. The fund will focus on supporting startups in the fields of AI, ML, green technologies, EdTech, FinTech and game development.

AI technologies. In October 2024, Uzbekistan approved a strategy for the development of AI technologies until 2030. The priority areas for AI development include: the tax and customs spheres, medicine, agriculture, and energy. By the end of 2024, more than 20 were introduced in Uzbekistan AI-based projects, and another 70 such initiatives have been developed for individual to industries and large enterprises.

In the International AI Readiness Index Uzbekistan climbed 17 positions.

The responsible persons have been tasked with increasing the number of AI-based projects to 100, and the volume of software products and services to $50 million.

Pharma. In September 2024, Russia and Uzbekistan agreed on a single digital labeling of drugs. Minister of Health of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the Tax Committee of Uzbekistan signed an intergovernmental agreement on information interaction in order to transfer information on the labeling codes of drugs (medicines) for human use. In addition, they signed a protocol between ministries in the field of training, retraining and advanced training of medical personnel.

Agriculture. In February 2025, it became known that the Electronic Pasture platform would be launched in Uzbekistan by December 1, 2025. It will help use pasture lands more efficiently. Territorial pasture farms will be created in Karakalpakstan, as well as in the Bukhara, Jizzakh, Kashkadarya, Navoi, Samarkand and Surkhandarya regions. Their work will be supervised by the veterinary committee. Pastures can be leased for up to 49 years. The decision on the transfer of plots to livestock and other farms will be made by the Republican Commission.

What local infrastructure features influence the choice of technologies and solutions in your country?

Telecommunication infrastructure. In the Network Readiness Index 2024, Uzbekistan ranks 81th with an overall score of 44.87. Government plans to develop infrastructure to improve geographical disparities in service; increased investment in infrastructure, with aims of expanding subscriber base and rising revenue; some villages have no connectivity, and 70% have 2G with development of 3G and 4G; free WiFi spots across country to boost tourism; digital exchanges in large cities and some rural areas; fixed-line is underdeveloped due to preeminence of mobile market; consumers largely reliant on terrestrial links and VSAT networks. The analytical company Ookla has published an updated Internet speed rating for January 2025.

Uzbekistan ranks 75th in fixed-line Internet. In terms of mobile Internet, Uzbekistan ranks 68th.

In 2025 it is planned to build 6 thousand new base stations. About will be laid 30 thousand kilometers of fiber optic cables, which will increase service coverage up to 98%. In April 2024, the Uzbek operator Perfectum Mobile announced the start of the deployment of a 5G network. The only supplier of equipment within the framework of this project is the Finnish Nokia. 5G infrastructure is planned to be deployed throughout Uzbekistan within two years. In September 2024, operator Uztelecom announced the launch of a cellular network of the 5.5G standard in Uzbekistan. The strategic partner in this project is the Chinese manufacturer of telecommunications equipment Huawei.

Cloud infrastructure. In August 2022, a single data storage and processing center of the Electronic Government system was built in the Zangiatinsky district of Tashkent region. The creation of the country's first high-performance data storage and processing center was provided for by the Digital Uzbekistan-2030 strategy. It was built in conjunction with the Chinese company Huawei and with the support of South Korean partners. To further develop the ICT segment in Bukhara, Ferghana and the launch of cloud data centers is being prepared in the Tashkent regions. In February 2025, it became known that the Indian company Larsen & Toubro (L&T) will build a 10 MW data center in Tashkent. This will be the first data center in Uzbekistan to support AI technologies.

What is the situation with local software developers? What business applications are in demand among customers?

FinTech. In 2023, AKS Labs was founded in Tashkent. AKS Labs is developing a system that simplifies the process of making credit decisions in banks and microfinance organizations. The main technological solutions of AKS Labs are built on neural networks for processing all available information about the borrower. The company's first achievement was the signing of a partnership agreement with one of the systemically important players in the financial market in Uzbekistan, which took place in May 2024. It was decided to create a joint venture and provide scoring for market participants, which enabled AKS Labs to enter the lending market.

AKS Labs plans to enter the Middle East and Central Asia market: the UAE, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, to offer its innovative solutions to credit institutions in these countries.

Transport. In December 2024, the MyID Palm biometric payment system was launched in test mode at 12 stations of the Tashkent metro. Special turnstiles with scanners allow passengers to pay for their fares by simply placing their palm on the screen. MyID Palm technology scans the pattern of the veins in the palm of the hand to identify the user. This ensures fast, contactless and secure payments, eliminating the need for cash, bank or transport cards. By the end of the year, the technology is planned to be introduced at all stations of the Tashkent metro. MyID Palm is a domestic development that guarantees protection of biometric data from counterfeiting and unauthorized access.

What cybersecurity and data protection regulations affect IT companies in your country?

Online fraud prevention. In 2024, the number of fraud reports in Uzbekistan increased significantly, indicating that the scale of the problem has expanded. In 2024, more than 35 thousand fraud reports were received, while last year there were about 26 thousand. About 35% of all reports are related to carding. That same year, the Central Bank's Cybersecurity Center CERT-CBU prevented fraudsters from issuing online loans totaling 285 billion soums ($21.93 million). To counter such schemes, the regulator has implemented several anti-fraud mechanisms. In particular, access to banking mobile applications is limited during audio and video calls, and registration and login functions from new devices are available only from the territory of Uzbekistan. The Central Bank of Uzbekistan took measures to block funds illegally appropriated by fraudsters in the amount of 9.5 billion soums. The largest number of requests this year were related to virus programs distributed through APK files in Telegram. Financial pyramids were also active in 2024. Fraudsters used deepfakes of famous people to advertise fake sites where you need to invest money in order to get high profits. Thanks to government support, improved regulatory framework and ongoing work to strengthen cybersecurity, the detection rate of such crimes is 30%.

Biometric ID. In June 2024, Uzbekistan began implementing a biometric identification system (Face-ID) for the provision of public services. The innovation will allow citizens to receive various services without having to present a passport, which will significantly simplify and speed up the process. Identification in the system will be carried out at the request of citizens when applying for an ID card and a biometric passport for traveling abroad through government services centers.

The introduction of the Face-ID system in public services in Uzbekistan is part of the program for the modernization and digitalization of public services.

In October 2024, the Central Bank of Uzbekistan announced the introduction of a new procedure for issuing online loans. The key innovation will be the mandatory biometric identification of customers in mobile applications of credit institutions before issuing a loan.

Global information exchange. In December 2024, the Central Bank Cybersecurity Center (CERT-CBU) became a member of the international organization APWG (Anti-Phishing Working Group). The international organization APWG was founded in 2003 with the aim of global information exchange, research and public awareness in the field of combating cybercrime, today it unites 2,300 organizations from different countries. Membership in the international organization APWG provides CERT-CBU with the opportunity to exchange experience in ensuring cybersecurity in banking and payment systems, as well as receive timely warnings about cyber threats emerging worldwide.

Which sectors are the most digitalized in your country? What local specificities or challenges most often arise when adapting technologies in these sectors?

FinTech. In March 2020, Committee on banking supervision of the Central bank of Uzbekistan made the decision on issue of preliminary permission to creation of digital bank Anor bank – the first in the country. The bank in the form of joint-stock company will be digital and will be located in Tashkent. According to regulations on registration and licensing of banks in Uzbekistan, digital banking is the bank or its structural division providing services of remote banking using the innovative banking technologies.

Digital bank – in fact bank without departments which are replaced by the staff of bank or outsourcing call center and also courier service or partner offline network.

In January, 2020 the Central Bank issued to the Georgian TBC Bank preliminary permission to opening of bank in Tashkent. TBC Bank is also going to start digital bank in Uzbekistan.

GovTech. As part of the formation of e-government in Uzbekistan, online services and mobile applications are actively developing that help citizens and entrepreneurs gain access to public services regardless of place and time. Such solutions, as noted, are especially important in remote regions where access to public institutions may be limited. For example, a mobile identifier (Mobile ID) has been implemented that allows citizens to be identified by a phone number. This simplifies access to services and reduces reliance on electronic signatures. Initiatives in the field of artificial intelligence are being implemented in the republic. One of them is the Situation Center for monitoring the activities of public services centers in real time. The system allows you to track the workload of employees, the average waiting time and service of citizens, which makes it possible to quickly respond to emerging problems. The platform includes more than 3,000 surveillance cameras and the Qlick Sense system, which helps to analyze and improve service processes. In addition, Face-ID technology for biometric identification has been introduced, which provides reliable authentication of citizens when receiving public services.

E-Commerce. The e-commerce sector in Uzbekistan continues to develop rapidly. Today, there are more than 78 e-commerce platforms operating in the country, and their number is steadily growing. Regulatory reforms and the active involvement of international companies are creating new opportunities for local and foreign businesses. For example, Yandex registered a legal entity in December 2023. In 2024, the Uzbek market also attracted other international companies, such as Wildberries, Ozon, and the international delivery service Bolt.

To facilitate e-commerce development, the government charges only a 2% tax on online revenue, compared to a 4% rate for traditional businesses.

Uzbekistan’s laws permit online sales of drugs and medical devices and permits electronic checks and invoices as legal confirmation of payment for goods and services. Companies that meet the requirements of Uzbek legislation gain access to national payment systems such as HUMO and UzCard, opportunities for financing and official promotion of their services on the market.

What examples of successful projects in the field of digital transformation or implementation of new technologies in your region can serve as a reference point for IT managers in other countries?

FinTech. In November 2024, the export-import insurance company Uzbekinvest, in partnership with GlowByte, implemented a project to develop and implement a corporate data warehouse with a unified system of analytical, financial and management reporting. The solution made it possible to centralize the process of accumulating historical data and form a single slice of business indicators and provide data in the form of BI visualizations. In addition, the possibilities for applying advanced data analysis and AI methods were expanded, which contributes to more accurate risk forecasting and the development of precision insurance products.

Oil and Gas. Digital solutions are getting deeper into the business processes of oil and gas companies.

Such enterprises are actively implementing big data technologies, including AI and ML, IIoT platforms, smart materials and 3D printing tools.

Digital field twins, robotic systems and drones are used, which helps to automate many tasks and increase operational efficiency.

What is the situation with highly qualified IT specialists, and what steps are being taken to develop local personnel in the context of global competition?

ICT labor. In January 2025, it became known about the priority tasks in the field of higher education and science of the Republic of Uzbekistan. In 2024, bachelor's degree programs were optimized, over 1.2 thousand educational programs were brought into line with foreign standards. It is planned to create technical universities in Nukus, Bukhara, Fergana and Namangan. In general, due to the consolidation of 35 educational institutions, it is planned to create 22 technical universities, and by the end of the year it is planned to open another 17 engineering schools.

AI talents. In October 2024 by decree President of Uzbekistan adopted the Strategy for the Development of AI Technologies until 2030. It defines measures to increase the share software products and services based on AI, expansion of technical infrastructure and human resources development.

To support startups in Tashkent University of Information Technology and Inha University AI laboratories will open.

Approximately 3 thousand employees of state bodies, as well as hokims and their deputies, will undergo advanced training in this area.

Cybersecurity talents. In January 2025, Uzbek President signed a decree on the establishment of Cyber University. It will train specialists in the field of information security and digital technologies. The university will also create information systems based on AI and robotics. It is planned to develop educational and methodological literature in the field of digital technologies. Future students of the university will be taught based on foreign experience and considering modern technologies.

What is the situation with the competitive environment?

In 2024, foreign companies providing electronic services in Uzbekistan paid 115.8 billion soums of taxes to the state budget (approximately $8.92 million). According to the Fiskal tahlillar Telegram channel, 63 foreign companies provided IT services in Uzbekistan in 2024. The bulk of the proceeds - 99.9% of the total - were provided by the 10 largest foreign corporations (Meta, Google, Apple, Amazon, Booking.com, Netflix, Zoom, ACCA, Xsolla, TikTok).

In December 2024, ChatGPT took the fourth position among the most visited web resources in Uzbekistan. The number of visits to the platform over the year increased by 6 million 261 thousand, or 948.5%, and reached 42.73 million visits per month.

I would like to thank Softline for providing such a thoughtful and detailed overview of IT development in Uzbekistan. It was truly interesting to learn about the country’s progress in this area from industry experts.

Global CIO is a professional IT community that unites more than 5,000 IT professionals from 110 countries. The goal of the Global CIO is to bring together IT leaders around the world to consolidate practical experience, create a unique knowledge base and communication between all professionals in the field of information technology. Community members gain access to a unified knowledge base, practical IT cases from various industries and countries, and opportunities to participate in webinars and events aimed at enhancing professional skills and personal effectiveness. The hallmark initiatives of the community include the international case competition "Project of the Year" and the "Top 100 IT Leaders" recognition program.

The Global CIO professional community includes members from Uzbekistan and some of them took part in the 'Project of the Year'. We invite you to explore their projects.

• The IT Backbone: How We Built a Scalable XaaS-Driven Infrastructure, Customer Ipoteka bank
  Project at Ipoteka Bank stands out due to its comprehensive transformation of a legacy IT infrastructure into a resilient, future-ready ecosystem that enables dynamic scaling, continuous availability, and enhanced collaboration.
• A data processing platform in TBC Uzbekistan (payme), Customer TBC Uzbekistan (payme)
  A data platform was created for quick analytical responses, including in self-service mode. The new approach made it possible to reduce time-to-market from several days to one day, in some cases from 24 to 3 hours.
• Design and implementation of an enterprise data warehouse with a unified analytical and management reporting system, Customer UzbekInvest
  The uniqueness of the project lies in it being the first comprehensive data platform implementation in Uzbekistan's insurance sector, comprising a data warehouse, data integration and modification tools, visual analysis, and platform development process automation tools.
• Monitoring the operation of wells «E-KON» system, Customer Uzbkeneftgaz JSC
  The E-KON field digitalization system project developed for JSC "Uzbekneftegaz" has a number of unique features. The system covers the entire hydrocarbon production process, from individual wells to gas collection points and central data processing server points.
• Creation of the centralized heat supply billing system for 436 thousand accounts in Tashkent, Customer Veolia Energy Tashkent
  The goal of the project is creation a modern system for controlling subscriber’s payments to improve the quality of services providing Tashkent with heat energy.
• LineStop System Boosts Productivity at JSC Uzavtosanoat, CustomerUzavtosanoat
  The LineStop system is an automated platform that detects and reports production line stoppages in real-time, without human intervention. .