On June 12–13, 2024, Tashkent hosted the largest event in Central Asia in the sphere of e-Gov, fintech, and digital technologies — the 4th International PLUS-Forum Digital Uzbekistan.
The event was organized with the support of the country’s key regulators: the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the National Agency for Advanced Projects, and the Competition Development and Consumer Rights Protection Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Visa was the Title Sponsor of the event.
You can find the full list of Forum sponsors, partners, and media partners here!
Participants of the PLUS-Forum discussed issues of cooperation among government agencies, the banking sector, and retail trade, the promotion of international cooperation in banking and financial technologies, as well as the deployment of new promising projects, including international ones.
In recent years, the entire Central Asian region—and Uzbekistan in particular, one of the region’s most rapidly developing markets—has seen intense competition for consumers among players from a wide array of segments. Each of them aims to have the mass consumer interact with them specifically through their own platform. This approach not only enables them to offer consumers their own goods and services but also extensively use Big Data technologies to better understand their customers and thereby form more effective offers—both their own and those of partners. At the same time, high-quality retail today is impossible without close integration of retail trade itself, fintech, and banking.
Previously, players in these segments barely intersected, each taking part in its own industry events (for example, the BankExpo industry event under the auspices of the Association of Banks of Uzbekistan, etc.). However, in recent years—thanks to large-scale intersectoral events like the PLUS-Forum—they have begun to communicate more closely and gain a deeper understanding of each other’s issues, sharing needs and best practices, ultimately enabling them to offer sought-after solutions to the market and one another.
Just a few years ago, competition among companies—particularly in the retail sphere—was built on access to cash and foreign currency. Then retailers began competing on the cost of goods and quality of service. Now we’ve entered a new phase of competition: those who successfully digitize their products and channels come out on top. In the future, competitive advantages will rest with those able to effectively use accumulated customer data, and all of this is, in essence, fintech!
Thus, today the PLUS-Forum is primarily a place where market analysis opportunities converge quickly, and where yesterday’s competitors for the consumer come together, integrate, and synergize.
It’s no surprise that the PLUS-Forum Digital Uzbekistan 2024 showed a continued rise in popularity for this interindustry venue both in Uzbekistan and Central Asia as a whole: this year over 2,600 delegate applications were submitted. During the conference, more than 130 speakers took the stage, and over 80 companies from 35 countries around the world— including Austria, the UK, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, China, the UAE, Poland, Portugal, the Russian Federation, Singapore, the US, Turkey, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Japan, and also CIS and Baltic countries—presented their products, technologies, and services at the exhibition.
PLUS-Forum participants learned about new innovations from Visa, HUMO, BS/2, PayPorter, MUK & Paloalto, Octobank, Innowise, and many others.
Of note was the impressive group of PLUS-Forum speakers. Among the key 2024 speakers:
- Sodir Melibaev, Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Board Member
- Dilshod Kurbonboev, General Director, Republican Cash Collection Service of the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan
- Jakhongir Abdiev, Deputy Chairman, Tax Committee under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan
- Vyacheslav Pak, First Deputy Director, National Agency for Advanced Projects
- Farrukh Karabaev, Deputy Chairman of the Competition Development and Consumer Rights Protection Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan
- Shukhratbek Kurbanov, Director, HUMO Payment System
- Anton Borozdin, Senior Director of the Central Asia Business Development Department, Visa
- Ruslan Omarov, CEO, First Credit Bureau of Kazakhstan
- Aleksandr Filippovich, Chairman of the Board, UZUM Bank
- Nicholas Cameron, Partner, Head of Forensic in the Middle East, KPMG Lower Gulf
- Aydos Zhumagulov, Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Freedom Bank, Kazakhstan
- Ulugbek Tavakkalov, Chairman of the Board, Madad Invest Bank
- Bahrom Numonov, Chairman of the Board, APEX BANK
- Chairman of the Board of the Association of Islamic Finance and Takaful
- Vladimir Norov, Chairman, Central Asian Association of Artificial Intelligence
- Ilshat Khametov, General Director, Uzum Market
- and many others!
This year, Forum participants were treated to a number of partner events and unique surprises, including:
The CyberNet AI-grant draw for $1 million. This was a unique opportunity to learn about cutting-edge AI solutions for contact centers, receive one of the 20 grants of $50,000 each from CyberNet, and increase conversions.
NETINFO promotion workshops “On the Way to Tomorrow’s Banking: The Secrets of Digital Transformation through Customer Engagement.”
HUMO business breakfast on the theme “Developing cashless payments. Achievements, results, and plan. The HUMO National Payment System.”
Meetings with top experts from PLUS Group. As part of Digital Uzbekistan, PLUS Group prepared a unique opportunity for event participants to organize a free, one-on-one meeting with experts in cybersecurity, banking self-service and ATM network optimization, the crypto industry, blockchain, and more.
A full photo report on the 4th International PLUS-Forum Digital Uzbekistan
Digital Uzbekistan. Day One
As the Chairman of the PLUS-Forum Organizing Committee, Aleksandr Grizov, emphasized in his opening remarks, “The new name of the PLUS-Forum—Digital Uzbekistan—better highlights Uzbekistan’s development as a digital power.”
In turn, the Co-chairman of the PLUS-Forum Organizing Committee and CEO of PLUS Group, Konstantin Grizov, noted in his welcoming remarks that the Forum features the most innovative solutions from leading international companies. “I’d like to share the official figures. To date, we have received over 2,600 applications to attend the Forum, which is 15% more than last year’s successful event,” he stressed.
Participants of the Forum also heard a welcome message from a representative of the Title Sponsor, Visa—Regional Manager for Visa in Uzbekistan, Behzod Abdurakhmanov. As the speaker noted, “Visa has been operating in Uzbekistan for over 30 years now. Uzbekistan is a strategic market for us, and we greatly value our partnership with commercial banks, fintech companies, and regulators. I want to mention that, over the last five years, our company has launched a number of new solutions and products that contribute to developing Uzbekistan’s cashless economy and digitalization.”
Additionally, Forum participants were addressed by the First Deputy Director of the National Agency for Advanced Projects, Vyacheslav Pak, and Oleg Pekos, First Deputy Minister of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan, who took part in the Forum’s opening.
As Oleg Pekos noted, Uzbekistan plans to increase exports of IT services to $1 billion in 2024. He placed special emphasis on the implementation of digital transformation programs, which have already produced tangible results across various industries.
He stressed that, thanks to government support and the creation of a favorable environment for IT business, the number of IT Park residents in Uzbekistan has grown to more than 2,100 companies. Last year, these companies provided around $1 billion in IT services and exported software products worth $344 million.
“Our ambitious goal for this year is to boost exports of IT services and software products to $1 billion. Two years ago, we set the same goal for 2028. We’re outpacing these targets, and that’s very encouraging,” the speaker remarked.
The First Deputy Minister of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan also discussed the expansion of e-government, noting that last year alone, more than 200 new services were introduced on the unified public services portal, enabling over 21 million services to be provided to citizens. Among other developments, more than 100 software products and information systems were implemented to cover the fields of education, finance, customs, agriculture, and geology.
Meanwhile, Vyacheslav Pak stated that Uzbekistan leads CIS countries in regulating the crypto sphere. He noted that Uzbekistan pays special attention to accelerating the development of the digital economy and deploying cutting-edge ICT. “We are very proud to say that today Uzbekistan is one of the world’s leaders in regulating the circulation of crypto assets, not just among CIS countries but worldwide. Our country has formed a legal and institutional basis for this field.
Uzbekistan is consistently advancing the development of the financial sector, including the capital market, where a Regulatory Sandbox has already been introduced, stock market indicators continue to grow, and the foundation for issuing green bonds is being created.
I also want to mention the explosive growth of e-commerce. I think many people in the capital and regions can’t imagine their daily lives without various online services, marketplaces, delivery and taxi aggregators, and streaming platforms,” said the First Deputy Director of the National Agency for Advanced Projects of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
During the conference session “Further Digitalization — A Global Trend in the Banking Business,” moderated by co-founder and partner of SBO Insights, Otabek Nasyrov, speakers discussed a host of pressing topics related to the transition to digital technologies.
Thus, opening the Forum’s first session, Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Board Member, Sodir Melibaev, noted, “To date, about 42 payment organizations are registered in Uzbekistan, 11 of which have begun working with electronic money. We are actively implementing new types of services. The number of payments using NFC and QR codes is on the rise.”
During his presentation, Anton Borozdin, Senior Director of Business Development for Visa in Central Asia, emphasized that “the shoppers of the future — Generation Z — focus primarily on simplicity and convenience of payment, while confidentiality is not among their priorities.” Young people show a strong interest in various investment methods, but they’re not particularly attracted to such a traditional instrument as credit cards.
Given this cohort’s high level of communication, it can be predicted that they will find brands most interesting when they are ready to interact extensively with consumers across multiple platforms. Meanwhile, for Generation Z, physically visiting bank branches seems anachronistic.
Considering that by 2035, the youngest members of Generation Z will be 22, we can predict increasing interest in mortgages, car loans, and virtual goods and services offered as paid content for computer games.
Shukhratbek Kurbanov, Director of the HUMO payment system, shared key achievements and development plans for the company, which turned 5 in 2024. Since its founding in May 2019, HUMO has issued over 26.5 million cards, 12.69 million of which are used monthly. The speaker noted that only about 40% of these cards are payroll projects, while the rest were opened voluntarily. The number of virtual cards—about 5 million—is especially impressive, indicating high trust and interest from customers. In addition, around 200,000 POS terminals have been installed across the country, greatly simplifying international payments and improving HUMO services’ accessibility for foreign citizens in Uzbekistan.
In his talk “New Legal Framework for Antimonopoly Regulation of Digital Platforms in the Republic of Uzbekistan,” Farrukh Karabaev, Deputy Chairman of the Competition Development and Consumer Rights Protection Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, discussed, in particular, the introduction of Antimonopoly Compliance, which is a soft regulatory mechanism.
Jakhongir Abdiev, Deputy Chairman of the Tax Committee under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, devoted special attention to automation and institutional reforms in the tax authorities. According to him, from 2018 to 2023, the republic has launched the modernization of the data center, introduced electronic invoices, established a citizen incentive program (tax partner, cashback), and implemented many other national-level digital initiatives. Plans for 2024–2026 include enacting Information and Cybersecurity Protocols and further developing Big Data and AI platform technologies.
Aydos Zhumagulov, a member of the Board of Directors at Freedom Bank Kazakhstan, paid particular attention to the possibilities of the Freedom SuperApp mobile application and the creation of a large-scale ecosystem at Freedom Holding Group. He specifically emphasized the capabilities of the Freedom SuperApp and building out Freedom Holding Group’s expansive ecosystem. This includes an innovative product such as stock cashback and offering clients the new Freedom currency—“the eighth currency giving shareholder status, linked to FRHC shares.”
Georgy Shebuldaev, General Director of HWG Sababa Central Asia, gave a presentation entitled “Accelerated Evolution: A Hybrid Cybersecurity Management Model in the Republic of Uzbekistan.” The speaker paid particular attention to various cybersecurity threat factors.
Nicholas Cameron, Partner and Head of Forensic in the Middle East at KPMG Lower Gulf, described the situation in the UAE and Gulf countries regarding the development of banking regulatory landscapes.
During the “Payment Methods. Best Business Cases in Retail Banking” session, Sanjar Suleymanov, Head of Money Movement Solutions (Ukraine, Georgia, CIS and Southeastern Europe) at Visa, noted that Uzbekistan ranked fifth for money transfers within the CISSEE region.
He gave a talk on the unhindered movement of money in the context of global trends, innovative solutions, and specific business cases at this session.
The expert drew special attention to current trends in real-time transfers, noting that there is still significant growth potential in this area for developing and refining services. According to Suleymanov, the government is the driving force for this growth, citing both public transfers and central bank digital currencies, as well as stablecoins.
According to Farrukh Makhkamov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board at AloqaBank, every fifth payment in Uzbekistan is handled by AloqaBank. The speaker discussed the bank’s digital transformation prospects, payment products, and business, emphasizing that, by the end of 2023, the bank handled around 20% of the country’s total payment volume—50 trillion sums.
He devoted particular attention to the AloqaBank payment app, whose user count rose by a factor of 2.1 to 2.5 million. Maintaining current growth rates could see that number double by the end of the year, reaching 5 million users. Among the most interesting digitization projects in development, the speaker mentioned automating alimony payments.
As noted by Nurbol Omarkhanov, Director of International Business Development at PayPorter, the company has sizable plans to grow its business in Uzbekistan as an international payment aggregator.
Uzum Bank offered an installment service via QR code to 7,000 merchants in Uzbekistan—announced Aleksandr Filippovich, Chairman of the Board of Uzum Bank.
According to the expert, cross-border payments and QR code payments enjoy huge popularity in the republic.
At the PLUS-Forum Digital Uzbekistan, Timur Altybaev, Commercial Director of Airba FinTech, gave a concise overview of the situation in retail trade. In his talk, “FinTech as the Digital Future of Uzbekistan, an Innovative Project,” he explored the role of Airba FinTech in giving retail customers easier access to financial services. Among the projects successfully implemented by Airba FinTech in the Uzbek market, the expert highlighted installment payment services, digital wallets, Islamic finance, super apps, the crypto business, and several others.
In Altybaev’s words, “We provide our partners with increased sales, and consumers get broad opportunities for choice.”
Mikhail Rogov, Deputy CEO at M4Bank, delivered a talk on “Payment Technologies: Reflections on the Future.”
The session “Trajectories for the Development of Uzbekistan’s Banking Market. Promising Solutions. MSME Digitalization,” moderated by the Chairman of Madad Invest Bank, Ulugbek Tavakkalov, addressed how the banking industry’s experience in digital transformation can benefit MSMEs.
In his presentation, “SMEs as a Catalyst for Modern Economic Development,” Bolat Mynbayev, Partner and Head of Strategy and Operational Consulting at KPMG Caucasus and Central Asia, noted that Uzbekistan has already established an SME Development Fund. Currently, SMEs in the country require $11.8 billion in financing, with 40% of SMEs facing a shortfall in funding.
Akrom Nadzhimov, Head of the Business Sales and Service Segment at Ucell, discussed the details of scoring systems and lead generation. In particular, he listed the main advantages of scoring: reducing NPL and increasing loan volume.
A representative of the largest credit institution in Central Asia—Halyk Bank’s Deputy Chairman of the Board, Dauren Sartaev—explained to the group how SMEs aren’t suitable for all banks, citing various statistical data.
Meanwhile, Bayan Abildayeva, Head of Corporate Business at Tenge Bank, offered her view on the same subject, noting that, overall, Uzbekistan’s financial environment supports the development of the MSME segment.
Meanwhile, Mikhail Loginov, Head of Business Development Programs at SAP, presented “The Digital Transformation of the Banking Sector — Market Leader Experience.” The speaker provided a comprehensive overview of global experience in this area.
At the round table “The Capital Market of Uzbekistan. Accelerating Investor Access,” experts sought to answer the challenging question of what needs to be done to expedite investor access to Uzbekistan’s capital market.
Experts discussed the main issues in the financial sector’s development in the country and region. Central topics of discussion included the rise of retail investors’ interest in the stock market, alternative investment types, and fintech products. Particular attention was paid to the necessary regulatory and legislative changes to develop these directions.
The session was moderated by Karen Srapionov, Managing Partner of Avesta Investment Group.
Sardor Koshnazarov, a leading expert at the National Agency for Advanced Projects, stressed that, despite the market’s small size compared to places like Kazakhstan, where capitalization reaches 300% of the economy’s size, Uzbekistan currently stands at under 10%. There’s enormous potential for growth here.
Nuriddin Lafizov, a representative of “Alif Moliya,” spoke about difficulties in investing in local projects, even though the company attracted $150 million in foreign investments over the past five years.
Also participating in the round table were:
- Odil Musayev, Managing Director, Alkes Research
- Nuriddin Lafizov, Director, Alif Moliya / Alif Uzbekistan
- Tolibjon Mirzakulov, Co-founder and Director of the Jett investment service
- Sardor Koshnazarov, Leading Expert, NAPP
- Chingiz Kanapyanov, CEO, ITS
The question of MFIs in the Republic of Uzbekistan, specifically “How to increase debt collection,” was debated in the round table “Sustainable Development of Microfinance,” where:
- Dildar Alimbekova, Chair of the Board, National Association of Microfinance Institutions (NAMI)
- Adhamjon Mamatov, Member of the Supervisory Board, IMKON Finance
- Bakhtiyor Khakimov, Board Member, NAMI
- Andrey Vareldzhyan, Director of the first independent debt collection agency in Uzbekistan
Meanwhile, the round table “Current HR Market Problems in Uzbekistan and Their Solutions. Real Cases from the Best” was attended by:
- Oksana Lyndina, Director of the HR Policy and Staffing Department, Management Board Member, Kapitalbank
- Vera Dianova, HR Director, Uzum Tezkor
- Denis Kosachenko, CEO, M Cosmetic drogerie chain
- Ravshanbek Dodokoziev, Director of the HR Department at Agrobank
This year, Forum participants saw numerous partner events and unique surprises, including:
Digital Uzbekistan. Day Two
A HUMO business breakfast took place within the PLUS-Forum titled “Developing Cashless Payments. Achievements, Results, and Plan. The HUMO National Payment System.” Attended by representatives of banks, the retail sector, and financial technologies, it covered a broad range of issues. Among other points, participants addressed the challenges of implementing a universal QR code.
Like on the first day, the second day of the PLUS-Forum Digital Uzbekistan was marked by a number of important agreements being signed, which experts believe will have a noticeable effect on the market’s future development.
Thus, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between PLUS Group and the Uzbekistan Artificial Intelligence Association by PLUS Group CEO Konstantin Grizov and Chairman of the Uzbekistan Artificial Intelligence Association, Vladimir Norov.
A Memorandum of Cooperation was also signed between PLUS Group and SBO Insights. Signing the document were: Konstantin Grizov and co-owner, partner at SBO Insights, Otabek Nasyrov.
Another event was the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between PLUS Group and INFOLine. On behalf of PLUS Group, the Memorandum was signed by Konstantin Grizov; on behalf of INFOLine, it was signed by CEO Ivan Fedyakov.
Additionally, Memorandums of Cooperation between SBO Insights and the Uzbekistan Artificial Intelligence Association were signed.
Moreover, a Memorandum of Cooperation between PLUS Group and the Uzbekistan E-Commerce Association was signed. The document was signed by Konstantin Grizov and Association Chairman, Muzaffar A’zamov.
The first session of the second day, “Islamic Financing and Islamic Banking in Central Asian Countries,” was dedicated to Islamic Finance and moderated by Alisher A. Djumanov, Founder and Managing Partner at AD Wealth.
He also presented a talk titled “The Development of Islamic Financing in Uzbekistan and Central Asia: Challenges and Opportunities.”
The topic “Islamic Securities as a Financing and Investment Tool. Prospects for Islamic Securities in Uzbekistan” was highlighted by Lazizjon Abdalimov, Chief Specialist of the Department for Investor Relations, Capital Market Infrastructure, and the Development of Financial Products at the National Agency for Advanced Projects. In his remarks, he identified key problems and opportunities in Islamic Finance development in Uzbekistan. Among the main obstacles, the expert mentioned insufficient financial literacy, the lack of expertise in the professional community, the absence of modern IT tools for implementing Islamic banking products, and regulatory barriers.
He emphasized that, despite these challenges, Uzbekistan is seeing increasing interest in Islamic finance. To back up his claim, Abdalimov cited data from a recent study involving more than 200 business representatives, 27 commercial banks, and nearly 5,000 individuals.
In turn, Chairman of the Board at APEX BANK and Chairman of the Council of the Association of Islamic Finance and Takaful, Bahrom Numonov, spoke on “Islamic Finance: Today’s Realities and Expectations.” He noted that a provision is already under review concerning Islamic Finance services offered by MFIs. Subsequently, this service will also be accessible in a number of commercial banks.
Jakhongir Imamnazarov, Co-owner and Director of Islamic Business and Finance (IsBF), discussed the creative economy, where a creative approach is essential. At the same time, a highly relevant aspect of this activity is moving the financial sphere online.
Chairman of the Central Asian Association of Artificial Intelligence, Vladimir Norov, spoke about the rapid expansion of Islamic banking in Europe (where 44 million people are Muslim) and in the US (where there are now 3.5 million Muslims, a figure that may reach 8.1 million by 2050).
Speaking on “Islamic Banking as a Platform for the Development of the Economies of Islamic States,” Mikhail Yurchenko, Deputy Managing Director for the Central Region at Compass Plus, advised the audience to consider that banks overall are keen to launch such services. The potential impact of introducing these solutions is clear: it brings additional internal and external funds to the economy.
Timur Khozhdaev, co-founder of IMAN CORP., chose the topic “The IMAN Path” for his talk.
Describing a new Islamic Window solution built on microservices architecture, Farida Dadazhanova, Business Development Director at the IT company FIDO-BIZNES, spoke at the “Transformation Process 2024: Turning Banking into Finance as a Service” session. Currently, FIDO-BIZNES has about 1,800 successfully completed projects in its portfolio. The FB Islamic Window solution allows banks and microfinance organizations to drastically reduce the time needed to bring new products to market under an Islamic window. As the speaker noted, the BaaS model spares businesses numerous legal challenges, including possible fines for technical non-compliance. Dadazhanova also mentioned the company’s achievements in business process robotics (RPA).
How banks can increase earnings by effectively handling data was explained by Aleksey Rundasov, Commercial Director at Data Sapience. He gave details on data platforms, illustrating how and under which conditions their implementation drives productivity growth, referencing the new Nova data management platform from Data Sapience. According to Rundasov, his company’s solutions have one special trait— 100% pilot-to-sale conversion—meaning customers, as a rule, do not want to exit pilot projects because they’re so satisfied with the results.
International Change Management Expert, Ekaterina Genkina, spoke about effectively introducing innovation through a human-centered approach to change management.
Evgeny Gertsen, Director of the Digital Transformation Department at Otbasy Bank, delivered a speech titled “The Industrial Revolution 4.0, or How Otbasy Bank Carries Out Urgent Bank Digitalization in a Short Time Frame.”
In his presentation “Low-Code/No-Code: The Digital Transformation of a Bank,” Sergey Sukhodolskiy highlighted key changes in market trends and customer requests. He paid particular attention to determining a bank’s level of digital maturity, including how the bank is represented in the digital space, digital marketing and promotion, as well as the effectiveness of online sales and products.
In their joint presentation, “How to Build a Data Oasis in the Desert: Experience of Seasoned Trailblazers,” Dmitriy Dolbilin, CDO at TBC Group, and Stanislav Primo, Chief Operations Officer and Head of the DWH Practice, enumerated the main data handling challenges and described the principles used to build their own data platform.
(Note: The image above references Evgeniy Ponomarev and Anton Gayvoronskiy, but no caption was provided in the original text.)
Roman Dyakonov, Chief Data Officer (CDO) at CLICK, talked about data management in the context of digital transformation. He noted that managing data effectively today determines a business’s competitiveness and simultaneously expands the choices available to its customers. Thus, while data management was until recently optional, it is now a critical condition for success in any activity.
In his speech, he also analyzed major principles of digital transformation, one of which is abandoning the “customer–contractor” model. The speaker devoted special attention to the need for mutual understanding and establishing trust-based relationships with business units, because even the most valuable data are useless if they cannot influence correct business decisions.
Olga Yarygina, Business Development Advisor to the Chairman of the Board at Bank 131, devoted her speech to “Neobanking: Reality and Prospects.”
Meanwhile, in his talk, “How Changes in Shopper Behavior Affect Shopping Mall Investments,” Kadir Yilmaz, Sales and Marketing Director for the Piramit MALL project, explored how consumer changes impact investment in shopping centers.
The transformation of retail trade in Central Asia was the subject of the round table “Uzbekistan’s Retail Trade. The Current State of e-Commerce. Key Trends. New Challenges and Promising Solutions.”
It was moderated by Timur Akhmetov, Director and Head of Procurement and Supply Chain Optimization at KPMG Caucasus and Central Asia. One central theme was the demand for a prospective loyalty program in Uzbekistan’s market—from aviation and public transport to retail and banking.
The discussion was joined by:
- Muzaffar A’zamov, Chairman, Uzbekistan E-Commerce Association
- Ivan Fedyakov, Founder and CEO, INFOLine
- Aleksey Ivanov, Founder and Head of the Customer Experience Laboratory (Russia/Uzbekistan)
- Kamronbek Muhammadiev, Head of the Development and Regulation of E-commerce, National Agency for Advanced Projects
- Ilshat Khametov, General Director, Uzum Market
- Timur Zakirov, Training Manager for Partners in Uzbekistan, Wildberries
- Evgeniy Shchepelin, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Wee marketplace (MENA), co-owner of the retailmedia platform Eshopmedia
- Tamara Djgarkava, Director of the Fintech Department at Direсt Kredit Centr, M.Video-Eldorado Group
They discussed the overall e-Commerce situation and legislation in the field of electronic commerce, logistics and fulfillment, customer service management in e-commerce, loyalty programs, development trends, and legislation around e-commerce in Uzbekistan, among other topics.
Another round table on the second day’s agenda, “Strategy for the Development of Uzbekistan’s Venture Capital Market,” included the following participants:
- Khurshida Igamberdieva, Head of Corporate Governance at AIKB;
- Ipak Yuli Bank, IFC consultant, independent applicant at TGUE, LLM;
- Erke Assemova, Deputy Director, Strategy and Operational Efficiency Group at KPMG Caucasus and Central Asia;
- Makhsud Yusupov, Investment Director, UzVC;
- Alijon Ravshanov, Partner, Venture Company Sturgeon Capital Ltd. (UK);
- Iskander Kurbanov, Venture Analyst, Plug and Play Uzbekistan;
- Davron Parmanov, Deputy Director, AloqaVentures.
The interindustry round table “Retail Banking Business” brought together experts from a wide variety of sectors. It was moderated by Elina Zakirova, Director of the Institute of Continuing Education, Practitioner-Expert, PhD in Economics, Professor at the Department of Finance, Money Circulation, and Credit at UrSEU, visiting professor.
Gathered at this informal round table:
- Aleksey Ivanov, Founder and Head of the Customer Experience Laboratory (Russia/Uzbekistan), who shared the results of an independent NPS measurement in Uzbek banks in June 2024;
- Ulugbek Tavakkalov, Chairman of the Board, Madad Invest Bank;
- Bekzod Tangmatov, Acting Deputy Chairman of the Board, Asakabank;
- Ivan Praudzin, Marketing Director, APEX BANK;
- Shokhpur Gulturaev, Co-founder of fintech startup finq;
- Elina Zakirova, Director of the Institute of Continuing Education, Doctor of Economics, Professor at Ural State University of Economics;
- Ivan Belokhvostikov, CEO, Cybernet;
- Alimnazar Islamkulov, Vice Rector, Tashkent State University of Economics, Director of the Transformation Center (TSUE), PhD in Economics, Professor.
The group touched on a variety of pressing issues, including improving financial literacy, enhancing consumer experience, new approaches for banks toward customer centricity, effective financial models for product portfolios, extending banks’ geographical reach in the regions, and more.
We’ll share a detailed report on this event soon; stay tuned for our publications!
Event participants agreed that the PLUS-Forum Digital Uzbekistan made a major contribution to the development of Central Asia’s and the CIS’s financial and retail industries. This event unites representatives of the banking sector, retail trade, e-commerce, payment systems, solution providers, market regulators and government agencies, and leading industry experts who are specialists in their fields and have in-depth knowledge of today’s state and trends in financial digitalization and mass remote services.
