Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — IT Park Uzbekistan is expanding cooperation with South Africa in BPO, IT and global business services. During an IT Park delegation’s visit to Johannesburg, the sides discussed attracting South African companies to Uzbekistan and developing direct business ties.
The first Uzbekistan-South Africa Business Forum was held in Johannesburg on 22 September, bringing together representatives of government agencies, business associations and more than 60 companies and organizations from the two countries. IT and digital services were identified as a promising area of bilateral cooperation.
During the visit, IT Park representatives held a series of meetings with members of South Africa’s Global Business Services and BPO ecosystem, technology companies and development institutions. The discussions focused on opportunities to open new service and delivery centers in Uzbekistan, build local teams and attract specialists.
One of the key partners was Business Process Enabling South Africa (BPESA), the country’s national industry organization for GBS/BPO. The sides discussed mechanisms to support international companies, launch delivery centers and develop the sector. They also noted similarities between BPESA’s approaches and IT Park Uzbekistan’s Softlanding and Zero Risk programs.
The sides agreed to explore opportunities for South African GBS/BPO companies to enter the Uzbek market and continue cooperation with the BPESA team in Cape Town.
Cooperation was also discussed with the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA). The participants considered establishing direct contacts between companies in Gauteng province and the IT Park Uzbekistan ecosystem, exchanging information on promising projects and developing new business ties. GGDA expressed its readiness to support further cooperation with South African companies and organizations.
Separate talks were held with South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC).
The sides discussed developing ties between startups from the two countries, supporting promising projects and cooperation between technology ecosystems.
Meetings with the private sector covered BPO, HR outsourcing, cloud technologies, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, software development and digital transformation. South African companies expressed interest in Uzbekistan’s human capital potential and opportunities to establish new operations in the country.
GRIFFILEE PROMOTIONS, ITM Katope, AT Business Solutions, Encore Strategic Partners, 3 Worx IT and Matiwane Diplomatic Consulting took part in talks with the IT Park Uzbekistan delegation.
The next step will be to develop the established contacts into practical projects, including attracting South African businesses to Uzbekistan, establishing delivery and back-office centers, and strengthening ties between the two countries’ IT and BPO ecosystems.
