Uzbekistan targets US$1 billion in fintech investment by 2030

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan plans to attract US$1 billion in investment in the fintech sector by 2030, Central Bank Chairman Timur Ishmetov said on 24 August at the opening of the Silk Road Finance & Technology Forum in Tashkent.

According to Ishmetov, one of the regulator’s main tasks is to build a full-fledged fintech ecosystem and turn Uzbekistan into one of the regional financial technology hubs.

The Central Bank is creating conditions for new solutions to be tested through its regulatory sandbox.

Another key element of the infrastructure will be the Central Bank’s Innovation Hub. The first group of residents is expected to be accepted in the fourth quarter of 2026.

The hub will support fintech projects at different stages, from developing and testing solutions to bringing them to market.

At the same time, the Central Bank has established a specialized venture fund and is negotiating with international management companies. One of the fund’s tasks will be to help promising fintech projects attract larger amounts of capital and international co-investors.

The regulator is also working on implementing open banking APIs and new payment standards. These are expected to simplify interaction between financial systems and create conditions for developing cross-border financial services.

In addition, the Central Bank is developing an alternative credit scoring model using artificial intelligence. The regulator is also studying possible applications of the digital soum.