Startup to unicorn within 2 years in Uzbekistan - Djasur Djumaev and Nikolay Seleznev, Uzum
Update: 2025-07-15
Description
Djasur Djumaev, Founder and CEO, and Nikolay Seleznev, Co-founder and Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer of Uzum, Uzbekistan’s first tech unicorn, joined us for this episode. Uzum became a unicorn in just two years, and now serves as the country’s leading e-commerce and fintech ecosystem. In this episode, they share how they built a household name in a largely offline market, their strategy for leapfrogging infrastructure gaps, and why Uzbekistan is one of the most exciting frontier markets today.
In this episode we cover:
- (00:01:11 ) Why Uzbekistan had almost no e-commerce before Uzum, and how they built everything from scratch, including last-mile logistics
- (00:07:50 ) How they scaled to 12,000 employees in under two years and blended expat and local talent to build a winning culture
- (00:10:33 ) The macro case for Uzbekistan: 6.5% GDP growth, 99% literacy, 87% smartphone penetration forecast by 2027
- (00:15:27 ) How 50% of adults were unbanked just four years ago — and how Uzum onboarded millions to financial services
- (00:22:57 ) Jasur’s fundraising journey: starting with his own capital, then attracting top U.S. and MENA investors despite skepticism about Uzbekistan
- (00:28:20 ) Where they plan to IPO, and what’s next for Uzum as they prepare for a dual listing and regional expansion
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