Central Asia Named World’s Fastest-Growing Startup Ecosystem Region
Central Asia has become the world’s fastest-growing startup ecosystem region, according to a new international report highlighting rapid growth in innovation and venture activity across the region.
The Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2026 by StartupBlink found that Central Asia’s startup environment expanded by 81% over the past year, with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan emerging as the main drivers of growth. Uzbekistan was also named «Startup Country of the Year 2026.»
Uzbekistan climbed 19 positions in the global rankings to 79th place after recording 227% ecosystem growth — the largest single-year improvement among all countries surveyed. Tashkent also surged 121 places in the global startup city rankings, becoming one of the region’s leading innovation hubs.
The report noted that Uzbekistan ranked first in Central Asia in categories including startup community activity, corporate engagement, funding and ecosystem visibility. Analysts attribute the progress to government-backed reforms, tax incentives, IT Park Uzbekistan initiatives and growing investor interest in sectors such as fintech, AI and e-commerce.
Regional venture investment has also accelerated sharply in recent years, with Central Asia attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in startup funding as international investors increasingly view the region as an emerging technology market.
