Best business conferences in Tashkent 2026: a founder's guide

Ivan Karataev

Managing Partner, BizReg

MBA, ACCA, CPA · ex-KPMG, ex-CFO of NYSE-listed companies · 20+ years in US & Uzbek business

Last updated 2026-08-08 · 10 min read

✓ Facts verified against primary sources (lex.uz, soliq.uz)

Last updated 2026-08-08 · 10 min read · ✓ Facts verified against primary sources (lex.uz, soliq.uz)

↻ Updated: 2026-08-20

Conferences in Tashkent are not about "showing up and listening". For a founder — especially one arriving from abroad — they are the fastest way into the local business scene: in two or three days you meet the investors, partners and teams that would take months to find on your own. We collected the main business conferences in Tashkent for 2026 — with dates, focus and a clear answer on who should go and why.

Why should a founder attend conferences in Tashkent?

The short answer — for the people and the context. Three reasons it pays off:

• Contacts in two days instead of six months. One hall gathers investors, future partners, suppliers and the officials who make decisions. A live introduction beats any cold outreach.
• First-hand read of the market. On panels and in the hallways you hear where Uzbekistan's market is heading: which sectors grow, where new incentives appear, what changes in the law.
• Visibility for your business. If you are just entering the market, a conference is a cheap way to be seen by the right audience.
• Access to government support and incentives. Development institutions — IT Park, investment agencies, banks — all gather in one place at these forums. It is a direct chance to learn about active support programmes and ask questions to the people who run them.
• Immersion in the local culture and business mindset. In Central Asia, business is built on trust and personal acquaintance: jumping straight to the deal is not the norm — you first need to meet, talk and become a familiar face. The regional business culture is largely collectivist: partners are chosen not only by the terms of a deal, but by how comfortable it feels to work together. A conference is exactly the environment where those relationships form naturally — over lunch, in the hallways, at a shared session. You cannot absorb this from a screen; you have to come and experience it. Founders who pick up on this dynamic close deals faster.

For a foreign founder this is especially valuable: you quickly grasp how things work here and build relationships before you even open a company. How to open one without mistakes — we cover in detail in how a foreigner opens a company in Uzbekistan.

Which business conferences in Tashkent to attend in 2026?

Here are the five events we find most useful for founders. Below is a quick reference table, then we cover each in detail.

ICT Week Uzbekistan — the country's main tech forum

The flagship event, run by IT Park Uzbekistan together with the Ministry of Digital Technologies. Held annually since 2004, in 2026 it runs 22–25 September at the CAEx exhibition complex in Tashkent. It combines several events under one roof: an IT exhibition, a startup summit by IT Park, a fintech forum and an AI forum. It draws technology companies, investors, telecom operators and startups from across the region.

Who should go: IT companies, startups, investors, anyone planning a digital business in Uzbekistan. If you are looking at IT Park residency and its tax benefits, this event is a must. Official site — ictweek.uz.

For every IT Park Uzbekistan resident, ICT Week is also a chance to meet fellow ecosystem members, potential clients and investors in one place. If you are still deciding whether to become an IT Park Uzbekistan resident, the week lets you speak directly with the IT Park team about benefits and requirements — and assess on the spot whether the model fits your business.

Tashkent International Investment Forum (TIIF) — about big money

Central Asia's leading investment platform. In 2026 it runs 16–19 June. The scale is impressive: in 2025 the forum gathered over 8,000 participants from nearly a hundred countries, with signed contracts exceeding 30 billion dollars. The format is panel discussions, business-to-government meetings and a large sector exhibition.

Who should go: those seeking investment, major partners, or entering the market with a serious project. Official site — tiif.online.

InnoWeek — the week of innovation

Uzbekistan's flagship innovation forum under the Agency for Innovative Development. In 2026 it runs 27–29 October at CAEx. The focus is artificial intelligence, digital transformation, biotech, green energy and engineering.

Who should go: tech and science projects, teams looking for grants and innovation partnerships. Official site — innoweek.uz.

Central Eurasian Venture Forum (CEVF) — venture and startups

A venture forum that gathers investors and founders around "smart capital" and AI companies. In 2026 it took place in spring (3 April) and gathered over 800 investors and entrepreneurs — it is an annual event, so the next one is expected in 2027, closer to spring.

Who should go: startups seeking investment and anyone interested in the region's venture market. Official site — ventureforum.asia.

Women in Tech Awards Central Asia — women's leadership in tech

An annual event in Tashkent (October) for women leaders, founders, researchers and startups. It is both an award and a networking platform where new names and projects stand out.

Who should go: women founders and teams for whom diversity and visibility in the tech scene matter.

How to get the most out of a conference?

The ticket and the entrance are only half the job. A few simple rules that turn a trip into results:

• Register in advance. Large forums require registration, and it often closes weeks before the event.
• Set a goal. Three needed contacts or one investor meeting already makes a conference a success. A vague "let's have a look" gives nothing.
• Prepare a short pitch about yourself. 30 seconds, clear and to the point: who you are, what you do, what you are looking for.
• Collect contacts and write the next day. The real work begins after the conference — in follow-up, while people still remember you.

How to prepare for a conference before you arrive?

Networking at a conference works better when you start before you even book a stand or buy a ticket. Here is the practical approach used by experienced participants at Tashkent business events.

Step 1. Get the attendee list. Many large conferences — ICT Week, TIIF, InnoWeek — publish attendee lists directly on their website: look for sections labelled «Participants», «Exhibitors» or «Speakers». If you have purchased an exhibition stand, the organisers will typically provide you with the full list of registered attendees — this is standard practice for B2B forums.

Step 2. Enrich the list using Clay. Once you have a list of companies or names, you can use Clay (clay.com) to automatically look up their LinkedIn profiles, corporate e-mails and other professional data. What would take hours manually is done in minutes.

Step 3. Find contacts on LinkedIn. Uzbekistan's business community is genuinely active on LinkedIn — it is one of the few professional networks that the local business scene actually uses. People respond well to messages, especially when the message gives clear context («I will be at ICT Week and wanted to connect»).

Step 4. Do your outreach before the event. A short LinkedIn message or e-mail suggesting a specific meeting — on a given session or in the hallways — works far better than a blind approach in a crowd. The goal is not to sell; it is to book a 15-minute conversation.

The chain «attendee list → Clay enrichment → LinkedIn → outreach» means you arrive at the conference with meetings already booked, rather than spending the first day searching for the right people. This is how those who regularly travel to Tashkent with concrete results — contracts, partnerships, investment conversations — actually work.

Bizreg at Tashkent conferences

We attend all the key business events in the city — and the nearest meeting point is ICT Week Uzbekistan 2026 (22–25 September). If you plan to open a business in Uzbekistan, become a marketplace seller or sort out taxes and a bank account — come and meet us in person. A live conversation at a conference often saves weeks of email.

Frequently asked questions