Nuked 
Hello followers! Today, we’re diving into the story of Uzum, Uzbekistan’s first unicorn startup, and its incredible journey to a $1.5 billion valuation.
Since launching in 2022, Uzum has become a superstar in Central Asia. It started with an online marketplace, Uzum Market, then quickly added fintech services like a debit card, alongside its express delivery arm, Uzum Tezkor.
Uzum now has over 17 million active users each month—about half the adult population in Uzbekistan—and partners with 16,000 merchants. In the first half of 2025, it saw gross merchandise value reach $250 million, growing rapidly year-over-year.
The company’s digital banking division, Uzum Bank, launched a Visa debit card in August last year, issuing 2 million so far and targeting over 5 million by year-end. Its unsecured lending business also expanded, financing $200 million in Q1 alone, tripling last year’s figures. Uzum earned $150 million in net income in 2024, reflecting impressive growth.
What’s behind Uzum’s quick scaling? CEO Djasur Djumaev credits local market expertise and disciplined execution. His team combines deep understanding of Uzbek culture and consumer habits with international operational standards, enabling rapid and sustainable growth.
Uzum built substantial infrastructure from scratch—over 112,000 square meters of logistics space and 1.1 million square feet of storage—processing over 200,000 orders daily. They established 1,500 pickup points nationwide to enable swift delivery and even distribute payment cards, supporting their expansion.
The startup has evolved its delivery models, including fulfilled-by-operator, and plans to route 20–30% of deliveries through seller-centric options, expanding its SKUs to over 1.5 million. This infrastructure and model flexibility attracted Tencent’s investment, driven by Uzum’s strong growth metrics.
Uzum also plans to introduce new financial products like deposits and long-term loans, enhance merchant services with QR code payments, and further embed AI for credit scoring and fraud detection. Next, the company looks to expand its e-commerce marketplace internationally, starting with China and Turkey.
With a workforce of over 12,000, Uzum operates profitably and aims for a public listing in the future, targeting a Series B fundraise of $250–$300 million in 2026. So, the story of Uzum proves that even in frontier markets, with the right mix of local knowledge and global standards, a startup can scale rapidly and attract major investors.
