Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — IT Park Uzbekistan will launch a global market-entry program called Land of Startups in 2027, with a US$5 million prize fund for 25 winners, according to Izzat Khamidov, Head of Global Growth at IT Park Uzbekistan.
Khamidov made the announcement at the Startup and Venture Summit held as part of ICT Week 2026 in Tashkent. The program will target startup founders from around the world, who will receive funding and be based directly in the Uzbek market.
The program will operate alongside the existing Presidential Technology Award, which also has a US$5 million prize fund, as well as a digital startup support program that reimburses expenses for patents, mentors and accelerators and provides R&D vouchers of up to US$50,000 for validated MVPs.
According to Khamidov, Uzbekistan’s sovereign ratings have been upgraded by S&P, Moody’s and Fitch in recent months, with all three agencies assigning the country a stable outlook.
He said Uzbekistan ranks among the world’s top 10 countries on the World Bank’s GovTech Maturity Index and in the top 10 for ease of doing business. Foreign investors can own 100% of a business in the country, with free cross-border movement of capital. Since 2017, foreign direct investment has increased approximately 13-fold, trade turnover has tripled and GDP has doubled over seven years.
Uzbekistan has a population of 39 million, accounting for half of Central Asia’s population, while 65% of residents are under 35. More than 25,000 IT graduates enter the ecosystem each year. According to Coursera’s global digital skills report, Uzbekistan ranks first in the world for women’s participation in generative AI education.
This year, StartupBlink named Uzbekistan its country of the year and the world’s fastest-growing startup ecosystem, while analytics platform Dealroom ranked the country first globally for the growth rate of venture investment.
Uzbekistan already has two “unicorns” — Uzum and TBC Bank. More than 1,600 startups are registered on the national platform, with over 130 expanding into international markets across 28 countries. IT Park has opened six overseas hubs to support market entry, which now support more than 150 companies worldwide.
Khamidov identified the Enterprise Uzbekistan jurisdiction as a key element of the support system. It operates under English and Welsh law and is secured by constitutional law until 2100.
Under the jurisdiction, corporate, social, property and land taxes are set at zero, while imported services are exempt from VAT. Company registration takes three days.
For companies entering the market, the Zero Risk program provides up to three years of free office space outside Tashkent and reimburses personnel salary and training costs.
By 2030, IT Park aims to increase Uzbekistan’s digital exports to US$5 billion, create 300,000 high-paying jobs and attract 1,000 companies to the Enterprise Uzbekistan jurisdiction.
