Uzbekistan fintech company Uzum has achieved a $2.3 billion valuation, marking a 53% rise compared to seven months ago, as investors increasingly support the burgeoning digital economy in the country.
This valuation is driven by a $131.5 million funding, led by Oman’s sovereign wealth funds, with previous investors like Tencent, VR Capital, and FinSight Ventures also contributing. The funding includes $81.5 million in equity and $50 million in convertible financing aimed at Uzum’s upcoming funding round. The startup is planning a pre-IPO raise of $250 million to $300 million in late 2026 or early 2027.
In August, Uzum raised $65.5 million with a $1.5B valuation, becoming Uzbekistan’s first unicorn in March 2024.
Uzbekistan, Central Asia’s most populous nation, is rapidly forming one of the region’s most dynamic digital economies, spurred by a young population, soaring smartphone usage, and low levels of online retail and banking services.
Launched in 2022, Uzum quickly established itself as Uzbekistan’s foremost “digital ecosystem,” merging e-commerce, payments, and consumer lending.
Building Uzbekistan’s digital ecosystem
Uzum started with an e-commerce platform, Uzum Market, and expanded into financial services by establishing Uzum Bank and the consumer lending service Uzum Nasiya. It also runs Uzum Tezkor, an express food delivery service, part of its broader plan to create an integrated ecosystem across commerce, payments, and banking.
At its last funding round in August 2025, Uzum reported over 17 million monthly active users. Currently, the ecosystem serves about 20 million users — over half of Uzbekistan’s adult population. Its marketplace connects with over 17,000 local sellers, and services across the ecosystem processed approximately $11 billion in payment volume in 2025. The number of annual transacting users increased to 4.6 million in 2025 from about 3 million the previous year.
Chief executive Djasur Djumaev claimed Uzbekistan’s retail landscape could evolve uniquely, with e-commerce central to this transformation. “Previously, we’ve mentioned that e-commerce is something that’s going to transform into retail,” Djumaev told TechCrunch. “It will leapfrog the traditional retail phase in the country, moving from bazaars and informal trade directly into digital commerce.”
Fintech driving profitability
Uzum’s financial growth matches its expanding ecosystem. The startup reported $691 million in revenue for 2025, a rise from $505 million the previous year, and net income grew to $176 million from $150 million. Its e-commerce marketplace generated $500 million in gross merchandise value and achieved EBITDA profitability after three years of operation, according to the company.
Nikolay Seleznev, Uzum’s chief strategy and business development officer, stated that the startup’s fintech operations remain the main source of profitability within the ecosystem.
Uzum’s digital bank currently serves around 5 million customers and issued 4.1 million debit cards in 2025, accounting for about 50% of all cards issued in Uzbekistan that year. The startup’s unsecured loan portfolio has grown to $400 million, while total finance volume — the credit disbursed through its platform — reached $1.2 billion in 2025. Additionally, the startup anticipates adding 5 million more banking customers over the next year as it expands lending and payment services.
Uzum has extended its marketplace beyond domestic sellers by launching cross-border commerce, enabling Uzbek consumers to order directly from international retailers. The startup reports that this feature added around 200 million SKUs from markets like Turkey and China. In conjunction with international inventory, the platform partners with local vendors providing about 1.5 million products available for next-day delivery.
To facilitate this growth, Uzum is heavily investing in logistics and physical infrastructure across Uzbekistan. The startup currently operates roughly 1,500 pickup points nationwide with plans to expand the network to around 3,000 locations by 2026. Furthermore, the startup holds around 125,000 square meters of warehouse capacity and aims to expand to about 500,000 square meters through four logistics centers that are currently under construction as part of a larger logistics development initiative.
Seleznev explained to TechCrunch that constructing logistics infrastructure is crucial for scaling e-commerce in Uzbekistan, where third-party fulfillment services remain limited. “You need to invest in infrastructure yourself to deliver and shift customer expectations,” he said.
Uzum intends to utilize the new funding to expand its fintech infrastructure and enhance its offerings across both commerce and financial services. The startup plans to invest in additional ATMs, payment acceptance infrastructure, and point-of-sale systems, aiming to build a comprehensive digital banking platform.
Seleznev mentioned Uzum aims to go public in the next few years, likely within three years, though the precise timeline is still undecided. The startup is exploring several potential listing