Uzbekistan Welcomes Global Innovation Platform, Plug and Play

SUNNYVALE, Calif. May 11, 2022 -Plug and Play Tech Center announces it will be opening an office in Tashkent, Uzbekistan later this year. After meeting with founding partners IT Park Uzbekistan, Ministry of Information Technologies of Uzbekistan, and AloqaVentures, Plug and Play has officially decided to launch a new location in Tashkent. Initial program focus areas will include Fintech, Insurtech, Enterprise Tech, and Education.

On May 2nd, IT Park Director, Farkhod Ibragimov, visited one of Plug and Play’s locations in Stuttgart, Germany where he met with Seena Amidi, Co-Head of Plug and Play EMEA, Sascha Karimpour, Managing Director of Plug and Play Germany, and Felix Lammers, Manager of Corporate Partnerships in Stuttgart. During the meeting, the parties discussed the opening of a new platform. Plans were soon finalized and Plug and Play is now officially opening operations in Tashkent.

Saeed Amidi, Founder and CEO of Plug and Play, said: “As one of the youngest and most striving ecosystems in the region, Plug and Play is dedicated to help the local Uzbek corporate ecosystem reach the highest international standard in IT and innovation. At the same time, the program will support local talents and entrepreneurs in their growth and innovation strategy by providing landing pads across key strategic markets globally.”

This new location will help create more opportunities for local corporations and agencies to work one-on-one with startups and accelerate the startup ecosystem in the region. The collaboration with Plug and Play will also help startups enter the international market, as they will be able to gain access to their global network of over 40 locations around the world.

Farkhod Ibragimov, Director of IT Park Uzbekistan, said: “Establishment of Plug and Play is a tremendous event for the startup ecosystem of Uzbekistan. Our local startups will get the opportunity to showcase their projects in over 40 countries where Plug and Play has representative offices. Furthermore, it will enable startup entrepreneurs from Uzbekistan to improve the quality and their competitiveness in the international market and will bring us closer in creating the first 'unicorn' from our state. It also opens up new possibilities for our ecosystem partners [venture funds, business angels] who can scale their activities.”

Plug and Play is looking to work with forward-thinking corporations, government agencies, universities, venture capitalists, and startups. The opening is an important milestone for the innovation strategy of Uzbekistan, driven by the local government, and a great addition to Plug and Play’s global network.

About Plug and Play

Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we're present in 40+ locations across five continents. We offer corporate innovation programs and help our corporate partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also organize startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC to drive innovation across multiple industries where we've invested in hundreds of successful companies including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi. For more information, visit https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/