The outcomes of the visit to Azerbaijan: participation in the innovation summit, new agreements, and attracting investments to Uzbekistan

From November 29 to December 2, the Minister of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Sherzod Shermatov, the CEO of IT Park, Farhod Ibragimov, and other representatives of organizations made a working visit to Baku, Azerbaijan.

The delegation participated in the InMerge Innovation Summit, held in Baku from November 30 to December 1. The main objective was to explore innovations in the startup ecosystem, e-government, telecommunications, venture capital, and cybersecurity. Additionally, delegation members presented the benefits available to foreign IT companies operating in Uzbekistan and invited them to establish their representations in our country.

On the first day, Minister of Digital Technologies Sherzod Shermatov participated in the opening ceremony of the InMerge Summit and a panel discussion on “Connecting Innovative Ecosystems: Regional Cooperation for Growth.“ He delivered a presentation on the prospects for the development and strategy of the ICT sector in Uzbekistan, as well as the future plans for collaboration in this sphere with countries in Central Eurasia.

Following the panel discussion, Sherzod Shermatov and Farhod Ibragimov held a meeting with the Minister of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan, Rashad Nabiyev. During the meeting, agreements were reached on further acceleration of trade relations between the two countries through e-government, telecommunications, electronic document management, and digitalization. For this purpose, a working group was formed between officials from the two ministries, tasked with developing and approving a roadmap between the ministries based on in-depth analysis.

For information: The opening ceremony was also attended by the Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Shahmar Movsumov, the Minister of Digital Development and Transportation, Rashad Nabiyev, the First Deputy Minister of Economy, Elnur Aliev, the Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology of the Republic of Turkey, Zekeriya Joshdu, Co-founder of Apple (USA) Steve Wozniak, the head of the PASHA holding, Jalal Gasimov, Co-founder of Tesla, Jeffrey Brian Straubel, and others.

Within the summit, delegates met with the organizer of the Innovative Summit, the head of Pasha Holding, Jalal Gasimov. Matters of collaboration were discussed, including the provision of IT services by Uzbek companies to Kapital Bank Azerbaijan, as well as investment in startups that have undergone acceleration programs in Uzbekistan through their venture fund, Caucasus Ventures.

Pasha Holding expressed interest in participating as an investor in the investment project for the construction of the IT Park Uzbekistan complex. They agreed to explore matters related to the construction of office buildings and hotel. Representatives of the holding will visit Uzbekistan in early 2024 to explore the information technology and real estate market.

Since 2006, Pasha Holding has been managing and investing in businesses in banking, insurance, investment, construction, technology, tourism, and other sectors. Currently, Pasha Holding and its affiliated companies employ over 17,000 employees, with the companyʼs total assets exceeding $11 billion.

An agreement was reached with the Chairman of the Agency for Innovations and Digital Development, Inara Velieva on collaboration and the exchange of experience in establishing a similar IT Park organization in Azerbaijan. The parties discussed possibilities for the development of startup and venture ecosystems in the region and the organization of joint acceleration programs for entrepreneurs.

The Agency for Innovations and Digital Development of Azerbaijan was established in 2021 under the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport. The main goal of the agency is to contribute to the development of the digital sector in the country, organize activities in the field of digital transformation and innovations, provide financial support to individuals and legal entities for their innovations, and assist startups.

On the second day, a meeting took place with the Director of Silkroad Innovation Hub, Asset Abdualiev, during which the development of export acceleration programs for Uzbek IT enterprises was agreed upon. Within these programs, visits to the United States are planned for the most promising enterprises, and Silkroad Innovation Hub will provide comprehensive support for business development, collaboration with leading companies, attracting investments, and enhancing the attractiveness of software products in developed country markets.

Silkroad Innovation Hub is an organization providing practical support to startups and entrepreneurs in Central Eurasia in establishing or expanding their enterprises in Silicon Valley and the U.S. market.

Following the meeting with the director of the business incubator Sabah.Hub, Rahim Bayramli, plans were agreed upon for the launch of a branch of Sabah.HUB in Uzbekistan and providing practical assistance in the development of startup projects through incubation centers of universities. Agreements were also reached regarding the investment, starting from March 2024, of a portion of the fund consisting of $25 million by the venture fund Sabah.HUB into Uzbek startups, extensive promoting the fund among Uzbek startups, attracting investors from Azerbaijan to Uzbekistan, and organizing meetings between Uzbekistanʼs venture funds and Sabah.HUB.

 

Furthermore, within the InMerge Innovation Summit, the Startup Stage competition took place, featuring IT Park residents — TASS Vision, Workly, Sugʻurta Bozor, and Uysot, participated and were presented to prominent venture funds including 500 Global, Caucasus Ventures, White Hill Capital, Seedstars, TA Ventures, and Plug and Play.