Berlin Economics at the Uzbekistan Outsourcing Conference

At the conference, Garry Poluschkin presented our new IT sector monitor for Uzbekistan, highlighting the remarkable growth of the sector. The analysis shows that the Uzbek IT sector has expanded at an average annual rate of 42% since 2020. Its contribution to gross value-added rose from 0.4% in 2020 to 1.3% in the first half of 2024, driven primarily by computer programming and consultancy. Thereby, the IT Park Uzbekistan is one of the key drivers of this development.

Employment in the IT sector has grown significantly, although wages remain low by international standards. This provides opportunities for IT investors. Notably, IT exports surged from USD 42 m in 2020 to USD 447 m in 2023, turning Uzbekistan into a net exporter of IT services, with the US and UK emerging as key markets.

While this positive trajectory is expected to continue, growth potential can be further lifted by further promoting education and improving regulation. Nevertheless, the government’s ambitious target of reaching USD 5 bn in annual IT exports by 2030 appears achievable if current growth dynamics continue.

Following the presentation, Robert Kirchner participated in a high-level panel discussion on entering Uzbekistan’s IT sector. The panel also featured Bastian Kroggel, Events and Operations Director at STARTUP AUTOBAHN; Adrian Wolkersdorf, Senior Policy Officer at BMDS; Dr Philipp Kleine Jäger, Tech and Strategy Advisor at EPAM Systems; and Vsevolod Li, CEO of the European Representative Office of IT Park Uzbekistan. The discussion was moderated by Michael Harms, CEO of the German Eastern Business Association.

We are thankful to all our partners and the participants for this valuable exchange on the opportunities for Uzbekistan’s IT sector. It was a pleasure to contribute to this outstanding conference.

You can access the full IT sector monitor here.

A summary of our analysis can be found in our latest Newsletter.