Uzum’s Uzbekistan valuation jumps more than 50% in seven months to $2.3B

Uzbekistan fintech Uzum has reached a valuation of $2.3 billion – about 53% more than seven months ago – as investors place growing bets on the country’s emerging digital economy.

The figure comes from a $131.5 million investment led by Omani sovereign wealth funds, with participation from existing investors including Tencent, VR Capital, and FinSight Ventures. This round includes $81.5 million in equity and $50 million in variable funding that is tied to Uzum’s next funding round, as the startup aims to potentially raise $250 million to $300 million in the second half of 2026 or early 2027.

In August, Uzum raised $65.5 million at a $1.5B valuation. It had become the world’s first unicorn (a startup that exceeds a billion in value) in March 2024.

This new investment comes as Uzbekistan, the most populous country in Central Asia, emerges as one of the region’s fastest-growing digital economies, driven by young people, rapid smartphone adoption, and low penetration of online retail and banking services.

Founded in 2022, Uzum quickly grew into Uzbekistan’s “digital ecosystem,” as it describes its business, including e-commerce, payments, and consumer lending.

Building Uzbekistan’s digital ecosystem

Uzum started with an e-commerce marketplace, Uzum Market, and has expanded into financial services through its digital banking arm, Uzum Bank, and consumer lending platform, Uzum Nasiya. The startup also operates a fast food delivery service, Uzum Tezkor, as part of its strategy to build an integrated ecosystem that includes commerce, payments and banking.

During its previous funding round in August 2025, Uzum reported more than 17 million active users on its platform. Today, the ecosystem reaches almost 20 million users – more than half of the adult population of Uzbekistan. Its market connects more than 17,000 local sellers, and services across the ecosystem are projected to reach nearly 11 billion in payment value by 2025. The number of annual trading users has increased to about 4.6 million by 2025 from about 3 million last year.

CEO Djasur Djumaev said Uzbekistan’s retail sector could evolve differently from many other markets, and e-commerce is playing a big role in that change.

“In the past, we have said that e-commerce is something that will change into sales,” Djumaev told TechCrunch. “It will cross the traditional sales stage in the country, moving from markets and informal trade to digital marketing.”

Fintech driving profit

Uzum’s financial performance has grown in line with its growing environmental program. The startup reported revenue of $691 million in 2025, up from $505 million a year ago, and revenue rose to $176 million from $150 million. Its e-commerce market generated $500 million in total sales and reached an EBITDA profit after three years of operation, the company said.

Nikolai Seleznev, Uzum’s chief executive and business development, said that the operation of fintech startups remains the main source of profit within the ecosystem.

Uzum digital bank currently serves nearly 5 million customers and issued 4.1 million debit cards by 2025, accounting for almost half of all cards issued in Uzbekistan that year. The startup’s unsecured loan book has grown to $400 million, while total capital – the amount of debt issued through its platform – is expected to reach $1.2 billion by 2025. In addition, the startup expects to add another 5 million bank customers next year as it expands lending and payment services.

Uzum also expanded its market beyond domestic sellers by introducing cross-border trade, allowing Uzbek consumers to order products directly from international sellers. The startup said the program has added nearly 200 million stock keeping units (SKUs) from markets including Turkey and China. In addition to international shipments, the platform works with local vendors that offer nearly 1.5 million products available for next-day delivery.

To support that growth, Uzum has been investing heavily in logistics and physical infrastructure across Uzbekistan. The startup currently operates around 1,500 points across the country and plans to expand the network to around 3,000 locations by 2026. In addition, the startup operates approximately 125,000 square feet of warehouse capacity today and plans to expand that to approximately 500,000 square feet using four logistics centers as part of the current extensive inventory construction.

Seleznev told TechCrunch that building infrastructure is critical to growing e-commerce in Uzbekistan, where third-party fulfillment providers remain limited.

“You have to invest yourself in the infrastructure to deliver and drive customer expectations,” he said.

Uzum plans to use the new funding to expand its fintech infrastructure and deepen its product offering in both commercial and financial services. The startup plans to invest in more ATMs, payment acceptance infrastructure, and point-of-sale systems as it works to build a fully integrated digital banking platform.

Seleznev said that Uzum aims to go public in the next few years, probably within three years, although the exact time is yet to be determined. The startup has been exploring several potential listing locations, including exchanges in the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, as it pitches itself to global investors.

Uzum currently employs approximately 12,500 people as it continues to expand its commercial, fintech and logistics operations across Uzbekistan.