TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, Nov. 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ICT Week Uzbekistan, a series of independent events highlighting Uzbekistan’s booming information technology sector, was held in Tashkent last month. The event brought together thousands of local IT professionals, dozens of international companies that are outsourcing IT services to Uzbekistan, and media from more than 10 countries.
On 21-22 November 2023, an Uzbek delegation led by Minister of Digital Technologies Sherzod Shermatov visited Ireland to learn more about the country’s success in developing its globally recognized IT services industry.
The Ireland trip was followed on 23-24 November by a visit to the Netherlands by a team from IT Park led by CEO Farkhod Ibragimov. The delegation met with leading technology companies including Zoom, EPAM Systems and VEON and organized a conference to discuss prospects and shared the experiences of successful foreign IT companies in Uzbekistan.
On 29 November in London, “Uzbekistan — The New Outsourcing Hub” was convened. The conference aimed to showcase the outsourcing potential of Uzbekistan and foster fruitful collaboration between Uzbekistan and the UK’s IT industry.
Uzbekistan has grown its IT outsourcing industry to more than $300m in exports this year and plans to reach at least $5b by 2030.
With a population of 36 million and an average age of 29, Uzbekistan is well positioned to succeed in the IT sphere. Ninety-nine percent of the country has internet access and more than 25,000 students graduate from university annually.
IT Park was created in 2019, and today ‘residents’ of IT Park benefit from a range of generous incentives. These include 0% VAT, corporate, social and property tax and a reduced personal income tax rate of 7.5%. Companies that participate in IT Park’s “Zero Risk” program receive free office space in the regions for up to a year, up to 15% of employee salaries paid for, reimbursement of a portion of HR expenses, free technical equipment for as many as 100 employees and up to $5,000 in grants for staff trainings.
Sherzod Shermatov, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Digital Technologies, said:
“Under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Uzbekistan is focused on growing, diversifying and modernizing its economy. Building a robust IT industry – including one that provides outsourcing services to leading companies from the US, Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere – is a key piece of that agenda.”
Farkhod Ibragimov, CEO of IT Park, said:
“We are charting a course towards an ambitious goal – growing the annual export of IT services to $5 billion by 2030. There is lots of work ahead to achieve this objective, but we are well-positioned thanks to our advantageous demographics, deep pool of local talent and robust government support.”
The four cornerstone events of ICT Week were the Uzbekistan Outsourcing Forum, the Startup Summit, the EBRD Star Venture Summit and the Uzbekistan-Korea ICT Business Partnership Forum.
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