Now the IT community is aware of Uzbekistan: what participation in TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 has brought

From September 19 to 21, 2023, the annual technology conference TechCrunch Disrupt took place in San Francisco, USA.

For 14 years, this event has brought together entrepreneurs, investors, and journalists from around the world to discuss the latest trends in technology.

In addition to discussions, TechCrunch Disrupt also includes a startup exhibition (Startup Alley) and a startup battle (Startup Battlefield).

Overall, the event is considered a focal point for the entire industry, much like the “Oscars” for cinema or “Comic-Con” for entertainment.

Therefore, every year, people gather here, even those who do not intend to present a startup or participate in discussions. Itʼs a place to keep oneʼs finger on the pulse and stay informed about what the current happenings in the world of venture investments, innovation, the development of new products, and technology in general.

Until recently, it was difficult to consider Uzbekistan even as a spectator of this “celebration of life“. The reason was simple – the startup culture in the country was nearly non-existent, and the overall attention to IT left much to be desired.

However, in recent years, this has begun to change. Venture capital entered the country, incubators and accelerators emerged, and the attitude toward IT at all levels, from domestic to state, has dramatically improved.

In such circumstances, the participation of representatives from Uzbekistan in TechCrunch Disrupt was only a matter of time.

Stands, cooperation and Digital Silk Road

Every year, hundreds of startups bring their booths to Startup Alley. Itʼs a kind of exhibition where companies find investors, partners, and employees.

The pavilions are typically divided into sections based on fields of activity (IOT, hardware, education, AI, and so on) or by countries.

This year, there was a dedicated pavilion for Central Eurasia, where 14 startups presented themselves, including several residents of IT Park:

• IMAN INVEST introduced a PoS solution operating on the principles of Islamic financing, connecting customers and sellers funded by P2P investors.
• Mohirdev is creating an ecosystem for programming education. The company has also developed CRM and LMS systems to assist educational centers and universities in launching their own programming courses.
• Workly is a cloud-based time tracking solution for small and medium-sized enterprises. The system allows employees to request leave, receive schedule updates, and track earnings.

At the booths, general information about the country, the conditions for IT companies, and the development of BPO and IT outsourcing were also presented.

Furthermore, Uzbekistan was represented in the panel session titled “The New Digital Silk Road: From Central Eurasia to Silicon Valley” by Mr. Abdulahad Kuchkarov, the Executive Director of IT Park, delivering a presentation on the countryʼs role as a new hub for BPO and IT outsourcing.

Specifically, he discussed the Zero Risk program, significantly simplifying the registration and operation of foreign businesses in various regions of the country.

The presentation also emphasized the countryʼs high labor potential, the high level of English proficiency among young IT talents, tax incentives, and future plans (aiming to increase IT exports to $5 billion, with an expected $3 billion coming from the USA).

Strength lies in cooperation

Remarkably, at TechCrunch Disrupt, it was not just Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan presented individually, but the entire Central Eurasia region, which also included Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

Much of this became possible thanks to the Silkroad Innovation Hub—a public space in Silicon Valley for founders and startups from Central Eurasia, with a mission to create a new digital Silk Road and promote the regionʼs talents on the global stage.

The founders of Silkroad Innovation Hub, Asror Arabjanov from Uzbekistan, and Asset Abdualiyev from Kazakhstan, rightfully believe that despite immense potential, local startups are inadequately represented globally and receive limited support from the international venture capital market.

Indeed, by pooling efforts and sharing experiences, significant results can be achieved within the next 5-7 years.

Silkroad Innovation Hub envisions the potential for five “unicorns”, $300 million in investments for startups, and $1.5 billion in IT service exports from the region. Considering the rapid growth of startups in the region, these figures no longer appear as incredible as they did before.

The IT community is not large companies

In recent years, Uzbekistan has been actively working to promote awareness abroad about the conducive conditions for IT development within the country.

Representative offices of IT Park, along with events such as the Digital Leadership Forum, have yielded positive outcomes. However, participation in TechCrunch Disrupt stands out as it provides a direct avenue to engage with the global IT community.

This is crucial because addressing large corporations is one thing, and dealing with startups is an entirely different matter. The latter constitutes a distinct sociological group, one distant from trade chambers, intergovernmental meetings, roundtable discussions, memorandums, suits, and ties.

Until recently, this stratum had remained relatively underserved, but efforts have been made to bridge this gap.

If Uzbekistan genuinely aspires to become a hub, it is imperative collaborate not only with governments, major corporations, and compatriots but also with these simple “guys from the garages”. This is because many of them eventually evolve into the founders of unicorns. Drew Houston from Dropbox, whose success story commenced at TechCrunch Disrupt, serves as a vivid example of this.

Information about the article’s author:

Timurmalik Elmuradov — analyst, R&D specialist, MSc of the Higher School of Economics in Moscow.

Author of "Skartaris Peak"— the Telegram channel about business, market and technology in Uzbekistan. He was responsible for development at the “Univer Club Family” group of companies (Russia), online publication Daryo.uz. Co-founder and former CEO of Spot.uz.