Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — ICTWEEK Uzbekistan 2026, the country’s largest technology week, opened in Tashkent on 22 September. The event runs through 25 September at the Central Asian Expo Uzbekistan (CAEx) and brings together representatives of IT companies, investors, startups, government institutions and the international technology industry.
This year, the event is expected to attract representatives from more than 70 countries and over 25,000 visitors, including around 2,000 international guests. The exhibition features solutions from more than 200 organisations, while the business programme includes more than 200 speakers and experts.
National pavilions showcase companies and technology organisations from the United States, China, Japan, Georgia, Oman, Türkiye, Tajikistan and other countries. International companies and Uzbek startups are also presenting their products and solutions.
In recent years, ICTWEEK has evolved from a specialised exhibition into an international technology platform. The programme covers venture financing, IT services exports, attracting international companies to Uzbekistan, startup development, artificial intelligence, cloud technologies, outsourcing and digital infrastructure.
The first day includes the official opening and a tour of the ICT Expo 2026 exhibition. At the Startup & Venture Summit, startups will meet investors, venture funds, accelerators, corporations and government representatives. Participants will discuss the development of the startup ecosystem, capital raising, international scaling and the expansion of technology companies into global markets.
The Uzbek–Japan Digital Community Forum will also take place on the first day, bringing together government bodies, technology companies, investors and representatives of innovation ecosystems from Uzbekistan and Japan. The discussions will focus on digital cooperation, investment projects and companies from the two countries entering new markets.
Over the past two years, the number of Japanese companies that are IT Park residents has increased from two to 25. The forum will serve as one of the platforms for further developing business ties between the two countries.
The second day will open with the Enterprise Uzbekistan Summit, dedicated to developing Uzbekistan as a new technology jurisdiction. Participants will discuss the legal and institutional conditions for attracting international technology companies and investment. The programme includes presentations by Enterprise Uzbekistan representatives, reports by EY and BDO experts, a fireside chat featuring IT Park Uzbekistan and Enterprise Uzbekistan, and a panel discussion titled “Rethinking Jurisdictions for the Global Technology Economy.”
The OTS Technology Forum and Tech & Service Outsourcing Conference will also be held, focusing on IT outsourcing, BPO, global business services and service centres in Uzbekistan.
In the first half of 2026, 608 export-oriented companies joined IT Park, an increase of 178% compared with the same period last year. IT Park residents currently export IT services and digital products to 102 countries.
A separate session, “AI Threats to Education & Employment,” will focus on the impact of artificial intelligence on education, professional skills and the labour market. Representatives of Amazon Web Services, Coursera, iFLYTEK, Alibaba Cloud and OX Group will discuss AI infrastructure, multilingual models, AI Model-as-a-Service, business process automation and preparing specialists for new professions.
Another event on the second day will be the Global Startup Ecosystem Awards 2026, organised by StartupBlink together with IT Park Uzbekistan. The ceremony will be held offline for the first time, with Uzbekistan becoming the first country to host the event.
In 2026, StartupBlink named Uzbekistan its Country of the Year. Over the year, the country rose 19 places to 79th in the global ranking. Tashkent improved its position by 121 places to 229th, becoming the highest-ranked startup city in Central Asia.
The main event on the third day will be the regional final of Startup World Cup 2026. Fifteen selected technology startups will present their products, business models and development strategies to investors and international experts. Areas represented include artificial intelligence, fintech, SaaS, deeptech and consumer technologies.
The regional winner will represent Uzbekistan at the global final in San Francisco and have the opportunity to compete for a US$1 million investment prize.
Startup World Cup is organised by Silicon Valley-based Pegasus Tech Ventures. The company manages more than US$2 billion in assets, with its portfolio including more than 300 investments, 88 exits and 29 IPOs. Since 2017, the platform has brought together more than 50,000 participants, 2,500 investors and 500 speakers. More than 100 regional competitions have been held in different countries.
The Tashkent final will also feature Speed Dating with 40 tables for meetings between startups, investors and potential partners. The regional final is organised by Pegasus Tech Ventures and Don’t Settle, with the Ministry of Digital Technologies, IT Park Uzbekistan and IT Park Ventures as partners.
The Uzbekistan–Middle East Tech Summit will also be held on the same day, focusing on technology and investment cooperation between Uzbekistan and Middle Eastern countries.
Another platform, SABRIYA, will focus on women’s entrepreneurship and leadership in the technology sector. Participants and invited experts will discuss the role of women in the digital economy, the development of technology companies and launching their own projects.
The final day of ICTWEEK will focus on cloud technologies, artificial intelligence, startups and the gaming industry. AWS Community Day Uzbekistan will bring together more than 500 developers, cloud technology specialists and technology enthusiasts. The programme features more than 15 speakers, including Jeff Barr, Vice President and Chief Evangelist at Amazon Web Services.
The technical programme will cover serverless technologies, artificial intelligence and machine learning, Amazon SageMaker, Amazon Bedrock, containers, DevOps, cybersecurity and modern cloud architectures.
The final day will also feature the Ignyte AI Challenge 2026, the GameGap gaming industry event and a special edition of the TAQDIMOT startup show organised by AloqaVentures. Selected startups will present their products and business models to investors and venture funds, receive expert feedback and discuss potential investment and partnerships.
The international participation in ICTWEEK reflects Uzbekistan’s expanding involvement in the global technology economy. For international companies, the country is being positioned not only as an emerging market but also as a potential base for further operations in Central Asia.
For local technology companies, the event provides opportunities for direct contact with international customers, investors and technology partners. Such connections can support capital raising, export contracts and expansion into new markets.
ICTWEEK Uzbekistan 2026 is being held from 22 to 25 September at the Central Asian Expo Uzbekistan complex in Tashkent.
