Uzbekistan has been named Country of the Year in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index Report 2026 by StartupBlink after achieving 227.3% startup ecosystem growth over the past year, thirteen times the global average. In response to the report, Yoshlar Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm backing founders from Uzbekistan, commented on the country’s rapid emergence as a startup hub.
The findings mark a defining moment for the region. Central Asia was identified as the fastest-growing subregion globally at +81.0%, with Tashkent (+155.7%) and Almaty (+70.1%) as its primary engines. Uzbekistan itself climbed 19 places to rank 79th globally, entering the top 80 for the first time after rising steadily from 115th in 2022.
Notably, seven new Uzbek cities entered the global rankings this year. Samarkand (814th) and Fergana (863rd) joined Tashkent in the top 1,000, a country that had only one ranked city a year ago. The spread indicates that innovation is no longer concentrated in the capital alone.
From day one, Yoshlar Ventures has operated nationwide, with the backing of the Youth Affairs Agency led by Alisher Sadullaev. This year alone, twelve startups have received funding, with over $511.2K deployed and more in soft commitments on the horizon. The fund focuses on pre-seed and seed investments in fintech, edtech, logistics, and B2B software: sectors positioned to benefit from Uzbekistan’s favorable demographics and sustained economic expansion.
“The most important number in this report isn’t 227%, it’s seven. Seven new Uzbek cities entered the global startup rankings this year. We’ve been running accelerator programmes in Samarkand, Fergana, Andijan and other cities for a while now, and I can tell you: the founders there don’t need convincing. They need capital, connections, and someone who shows up. That’s what we try to be.“ said Abdulaziz Yakubov, CEO at Yoshlar Ventures.
The firm sees the index as validation of a longer thesis: that the combination of government-led infrastructure investment, a demographic dividend of over 20 million people under 30, and a rapidly digitalising economy creates an opportunity set comparable to a decade ago.
Looking ahead, Yoshlar Ventures is actively targeting 15–20 early-stage investments across Uzbekistan and abroad. The fund welcomes co-investment from partners seeking exposure to one of the world’s most dynamic emerging ecosystems.
