Capitalising on Central Asia: Advancing Digitalisation in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan has undergone a significant digital transformation over recent years as it has sought to position itself as one of Central Asia’s key emerging IT hubs. Since assuming office in 2016, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has embraced the digital sector as a key driver of economic transformation and growth as he has looked to diversify the country's economy beyond its traditional reliance on the trade in natural resources.
National Digital Economy Strategy
Digital Uzbekistan 2030 Strategy
The Digital Uzbekistan 2030 Strategy, as approved by presidential decree in 2020, is a key part of the country’s digital development plan, with its primary goals seen as advancing the digital industry, boosting national economic competitiveness, and nurturing an efficient, citizen‑centric digital ecosystem. Within this, the strategy focuses on four priority areas – digital infrastructure, e‑government, the national digital technologies market, and IT education / training.
In line with its digital infrastructure expansion plans, the country achieved near‑universal broadband coverage (99.5%) in early 2026, up from just 41% nine years earlier. According to government figures, in the five years running up to July 2025, fixed internet speed enjoyed a seven‑fold increase, while mobile internet speed was up 4.5 times. Complementing this, strategic investments in IT education and the promotion of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education, alongside modernised curricula and training remits, helped enhance the country’s overall level of digital literacy, while also providing a steady supply of technical talent for the expanding national technologies market.
The strategy also prioritised the expansion of the digital products and services sectors, looking to increase their contribution to both national output and overall export levels. As a sign of the success of the initiative, the country’s IT service exports rose from US$170 million in 2020 to about US$1 billion in 2025. In terms of gross value added, the country’s information and communication industry grew from UZS 10,371.9 billion (1.5% of GDP, about US$1 billion) in 2020 to UZS52,207.4 billion (2.8% of GDP, about US$4.35 billion) in 2025.
Beyond that, the strategy sees Uzbekistan positioned as a leading e‑government nation by 2030. On this front, the efforts to date are already yielding measurable results – most notably, as of April 2026, some 850 services were available via the government portal. In total, Uzbekistan has risen 24 places (from 87th in 2020 to 63rd in 2024) on the United Nations (UN) E-Government Development Index (EGDI).
AI Strategy
In October 2024, in order to promote the wider use of AI more generally, the Uzbekistan Government approved the Strategy for the Development of Artificial Intelligence Technologies 2030 (AI Strategy). This particular initiative is intended to nurture the widespread adoption of AI across many of Uzbekistan’s social and economic sectors, positioning the country as a world leader in AI utilisation, while supporting the overall Digital Uzbekistan 2030 strategy.
To this end, there has been a focus on building a supportive ecosystem through legal frameworks, technical infrastructure, human capital development, ethical standards, and practical AI applications across a number of priority sectors. Among the milestones along the way have been the launch of the Center for the Development of Artificial Intelligence and the Digital Economy, the establishment of a national Big Data database, the adoption of AI ethical rules and standards, the development of relevant infrastructure and the nurturing of an appropriately skilled workforce[1].
IT Park Advantages
Established in Tashkent in 2019 by the Ministry of Digital Technologies, the IT Park serves as the primary engine for Uzbekistan’s digital economic transformation. Functioning as a nationwide Special Economic Zone (SEZ), the IT Park operates on the principle of extraterritoriality.
Essentially, unlike traditionally geographically‑restricted zones, IT Park members can be located anywhere within the Republic of Uzbekistan, while retaining full fiscal advantages. Such flexibility offers substantial benefits to Hong Kong enterprises, allowing them to choose the most logistically convenient city or even operate via a remote office while maintaining a competitive tax‑exempt status. Adding to its appeal to global tech firms, the IT Park offers world‑class infrastructure, a liberalised regulatory framework, and a highly competitive fiscal regime.
In more specific terms, the IT Park is seen as having one of Central Asia’s most robust and advantageous tax‑incentive frameworks. This sees members qualify for full exemptions from corporate income tax, turnover tax, and value‑added tax (VAT), while social taxes are waived, and personal income tax for employees is just 7.5%, well below the national flat rate of 12%.
In order to further boost the appeal for global talent and capital, the government introduced an IT Visa programme, which offers a simplified residency pathway for IT specialists, entrepreneurs and investors, ensuring seamless relocation and operational continuity.
This dual‑track approach – incentivising both corporate entities and individual talent – has proven highly effective. To date, it has delivered a significant surge in new registrations and helped position Uzbekistan as a competitive destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the technology sector.
As of March 2026, more than 3,500 residents were registered in the IT Park. Of these, more than 750 were overseas companies, including businesses from throughout Europe, the Americas, the Asia‑Pacific region and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Having already expanded into multiple regions of the country, the construction of a new IT Park complex in the southeastern city of Samarkand began in late 2025.
Tashkent’s IT Park: The hub of an ‘extraterritorial’ special economic zone.
Service Exports – IT Outsourcing
As part of its commitment to creating highly‑skilled, well‑paid jobs for the country's substantial and young‑skewing population, Uzbekistan has positioned itself as a priority destination for business process outsourcing and knowledge process outsourcing, with an emphasis that goes well beyond traditional software development. The long‑term goal here has been to develop the kind of IT services that can make a major contribution to Uzbekistan’s GDP, with the aim of securing US$5 billion in annual IT exports by 2030.
In order to incentivise overseas firms to enter the Uzbek market, the IT Park has introduced a Zero Risk Program. This comprises free office space for 12 months in its regional branches, subsidised rent and utilities, assistance with recruitment and training costs, and reimbursement of up to 15% on payroll costs for all local employees. Through scaled outsourcing work for the IT sector, the park is aiming to serve as a preferred back‑office and technical support supplier across the CIS region.
Domestic Unicorn
A clear measure of the success of Uzbekistan’s bid to upgrade its overall level of digital development, of course, is the progress made by individual domestic technology companies. In this instance, one of the most telling case studies comes courtesy of Uzum, the Tashkent‑headquartered technology start‑up that has become the country’s first ‘unicorn’ – a term only applied to a privately held start‑up valued at more than US$1 billion.
After passing the US$1 billion mark in March 2024, as of early 2026, the company was said to be worth some US$2.3 billion. Its success stems from its development of a proprietary single super‑app ecosystem, integrating e‑commerce, fintech and logistics services. With a user base exceeding 20 million (more than half of Uzbekistan’s population), its pre‑eminence is a powerful “proof of concept” of the scalability of Central Asia’s digital platforms.
Uzum’s significance extends well beyond its valuation, with the company proving a magnet for global capital, attracting investors from multiple locales, including the Chinese Mainland, the Middle East and the US. In terms of its future, the company is currently preparing for its final pre‑initial public offering (pre‑IPO) funding round, which is set to be conducted in Hong Kong before the year‑end. Subsequent to that, a 2027 listing is planned in either Hong Kong, London, Abu Dhabi or New York.
Growing Opportunities
Inevitably, Uzbekistan’s rapid digital transformation, in line with the Digital Uzbekistan 2030 Strategy, together with the dynamic growth of the IT Park, has been seen by the global business community as opening up a wide range of opportunities. Indeed, as the country has made accelerated moves to establish itself as a leading regional IT hub, its well‑defined objectives and supportive ecosystem have created fertile ground for international collaboration and investment.
At present, the Uzbek government has committed to securing some US$5 billion in IT services and software exports by 2030, while also prioritising moves to significantly increase the digital economy’s GDP contribution. In order to make good on its ambitions, it is looking to upgrade the capacity of the country's digital infrastructure through the introduction of extensive fibre‑optic networks, green energy‑integrated data centres, and a nationwide 5G rollout. With reliable international connectivity and scalable operation the priorities, these developments – combined with tax incentives, a streamlined regulatory regime, and a young, digitally‑literate population – have seen Uzbekistan emerge as a premium nearshore / offshore Central Asia digital services hub.
For global businesses, particularly those from Hong Kong, the opportunities are both diverse and timely.
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IT and business process outsourcing (BPO): The IT Park’s extraterritorial benefits and rapidly expanding talent pool have made it ideal for cost-effective, high-quality software development, testing, and customer support services. As a result, many overseas companies are already availing themselves of its benefits, with hundreds of new non-domestic members boosting both local employment and overall export levels.
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Digital infrastructure and data solutions: With demand rising for data centres, cloud services, cybersecurity, and green tech infrastructure, Uzbekistan’s competitive utility costs make it an attractive location for data centre operation.
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Sector-specific digital solutions: Successful local businesses – most notably Uzum – have won global recognition, while demonstrating the huge potential of the Uzbekistan market. With many of the country’s business sectors – especially e-commerce, fintech, logistics, manufacturing, and agriculture – undergoing a rapid upgrade process, there is clearly scope for Hong Kong companies to supply a raft of advanced solutions and expertise in order to assist Uzbekistan as it looks to scale various priority industries.
Beyond direct investment, Hong Kong businesses can leverage the city’s strengths as an ideal regional hub – one with enhanced capital market access, comprehensive international trade networks, and high‑level professional service suppliers – for Uzbekistan’s wider integration into global value chains. In addition, strategic joint ventures, technology transfer initiatives, skills development programmes, and participation in the IT Park’s incubation and acceleration initiatives could clearly yield mutual benefits.
Overall, it is clear that the successful implementation of the Digital Uzbekistan 2030 strategy has not only transformed the country's domestic economy but has also reshaped the Central Asian digital landscape. For Hong Kong enterprises, this is a timely and promising outcome and an opportunity to pursue new growth in a high‑potential market committed to reform.
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