CAREC Ecosystem Landscape

Taxes and Incentives

• Alif Bank is a FinTech company as well as one of the largest funding round investors in Central Asia, with 90% market share in Tajikistan and 33% in Uzbekistan.

• Zhongguancun Science Park’s Angel Investor projects are ranked #1 in China.

• Microsoft Ventures has funded $235 million USD to provide guidance and funding to cloud-computing firms in China.

• “Growth in Georgia” is a $65 million USD grant allocated by USAID to support employment and accountable governance in Georgia. The grant has the potential to increase to$330 million over the next five years.

• Companies located in the Astana Hub, the High Tech Park, and free economic zones are eligible for tax breaks.

• STEP awarded $30,000 to Social Startups in Pakistan.

• Pakistan’s largest fundraising by an early-stage tech startup was achieved by Bazaar Technologies Pvt, which raised $30 million.

• Zameen is in the top 5 property portals in the world raising over $31.5 million in funding.

  Investor Landscape

  • ADB has invested over $14.97 billion in CAREC development projects since 2001;

  • Overall, $40 billion worth of investments have been made collectively by ADB, development partners, and the CAREC governments since 2001;

  • Between 2005 and 2030 the region must invest up to $9.7 trillion in the energy sector;

  • The CAREC 2030 Plan proposes establishing an agency for multilateral trade credit and investment guarantees;

  • Until 2030, CAREC members have set out to stimulate private sector investments and cross-border investment within member countries;

  Notable events

  • Startup Weekends in Zavkhan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Georgia

  • ITB China Startup Award

  • Central Asia’s Energy Investment Forum 2021