Uzbekistan Green Start Accelerator Highlights Sustainable Startups

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The final Demo Day of the Green Start accelerator program, aimed at developing technological entrepreneurship and supporting innovative projects in the field of sustainable development, took place at the U-ENTER innovation center.

The program is implemented with the support of the Government of Switzerland, the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), and Virtual Accelerate.

During the final Demo Day, 12 startup teams presented projects offering practical solutions to current environmental, social, and industrial problems to an expert jury. The finalists were selected from more than 30 participants who underwent an intensive six-week acceleration program. This program included educational modules, practical workshops, individual mentoring, and consultations with industry specialists.

A key feature of the current season was that nearly all projects have already passed the viability testing phase and possess active pilot solutions or commercial implementations.

One of the most notable projects was Catextra, a digital platform developed for the complete traceability of textile products. Using a QR code, the technology provides information about all stages of an item's production, from cotton cultivation to the release of finished clothing, while also displaying environmental performance indicators and international certificates. The development has already been successfully tested in cooperation with the Bukhara Cotton Textile and Navbahor Textile enterprises with the support of GIZ.

The Wolter project, which is developing an eco-friendly courier delivery network using electric bicycles, also generated high interest among participants. The company cooperates with major delivery services, including Yandex Lavka, Yandex Eda, Uzum Tezkor, and Bellissimo Pizza. According to the developers, switching to electric transport significantly reduces carbon dioxide emissions and increases the sustainability of urban logistics.

The socio-environmental direction was represented by a project from Diana Sharipova of Namangan, which grew out of the activities of the Dobry Magazin charity shop. The startup involves recycling unwanted textile products into eco-friendly filler for the furniture, textile, and construction industries. The production is planned to be organized using specialized equipment and solar energy, with a portion of the profits directed toward the further development of charitable initiatives.

The presented projects demonstrated high potential for commercialization and scaling. According to the organizers, modern technological entrepreneurship in Uzbekistan is increasingly focusing not only on creating innovative products but also on solving specific social problems, including the development of a circular economy, industrial digitalization, reducing environmental impacts, and improving the population's quality of life.

Following the final, six winners were selected to travel to Germany to study international experience in the field of innovation, green technologies, and technological entrepreneurship. The program also provides for further expert support, the development of international partnerships, and assistance in attracting investments.

The Green Start final confirmed the growing potential of Uzbekistan's innovation ecosystem and demonstrated that domestic startups are becoming an important tool for introducing modern technologies, developing a sustainable economy, and forming new high-tech markets.