Uzbekistan Positions Itself as Tech Hub at ICT Week 2026

Uzbekistan is shifting its economic focus from the mere consumption of foreign technology to the development of indigenous intellectual property. The upcoming ICT Week 2026, themed "Land of Startups," serves as a metric for this transition, moving beyond a traditional trade show toward a functional venture capital ecosystem.

The scale of the event has expanded three-fold in the last three years. This year, the exhibition expects 25,000 visitors, including 2,000 foreign guests. More than 200 organizations will occupy the exhibition space, with international participants now comprising over half of the total exhibitors. National pavilions will represent a diverse group of economies, including the US, China, Japan, Turkey, Oman, and Russia.

The presence of global giants—Apple, NVIDIA, OpenAI, IBM, Oracle, and Huawei—alongside domestic players like Uzum and IT Park Uzbekistan, indicates a shift in how the country interacts with the global tech sector. Rather than acting as a peripheral market for software licenses, Uzbekistan is attempting to integrate its local startups into global supply chains and investment cycles.

A critical structural element of this year's program is the "Founder Pitching" session. Over 20 startups will present directly to venture capital funds, including DoMiNo Ventures, Aloqa Ventures, and IT Park Ventures. This move transforms the event from a display of capabilities into a transactional marketplace for equity and capital.

Digital Minister Sherzod Shermatov noted that the transition toward a startup-driven economy is a result of systemic investments in human capital and digital infrastructure. The goal is to ensure that Uzbek-born technology enters international markets as a standard occurrence rather than an anomaly.

The business program, featuring 20 forums and summits, will focus on the export of IT services and the deployment of AI and smart-city infrastructure—sectors that represent the move from raw resource dependency toward a high-value service economy.