LONDON, June 17. /Dunyo IA/. Robin Butler, a Partner and the Head of Impact at “Sturgeon Capital”, shared his views with Dunyo IA regarding the investment attractiveness of Uzbekistan and his expectations for the 5^th Tashkent International Investment Forum, which is taking place in the capital of Uzbekistan from June 16^th to 18^th:

- “Sturgeon Capital” is a London-headquartered investment firm managing over 300 million US dollars in assets on behalf of institutional investors, including the IFC, “SBI Holdings”, “Kazakhstan Investment Corporation” and “Chevron”, through the execution of private equity and venture capital strategies.

We have been operating in Uzbekistan for approximately eight years. As one of the pioneering venture capital investors in the country, we have invested in companies such as “Bills”, “Arzon Apteka”, 'Oasis”, “Microcredit” and “Zip24”. Over this period, we have deployed more than 15 million dollars into early-stage companies.

For us, it is truly impressive to witness the scale and velocity of transformations occurring in the country. Today's Uzbekistan cannot be compared to what it was seven or eight years ago when we first began our operations here. To see this, one only needs to look at the modern skyscrapers of Tashkent.

Today, particularly in 2025, Uzbekistan has transformed into one of the fastest-growing startup ecosystems in the world. The success of companies such as “Uzum” in the domestic market stimulates the development of the entire ecosystem. Furthermore, transactions such as the acquisition of “Bills” a company from the “Sturgeon Capital” portfolio - by TBC last year can serve as a vital catalyst for further growth.

Of course, the startup ecosystem is merely a fraction of the large-scale and highly compelling changes taking place in the country. These transformations have been made possible by the ongoing political and economic reforms.

I am very pleased to participate in the Tashkent International Investment Forum once again. Having attended several times before, each year I observe the expansion of the forum's geography, the level of participants, their influence and the overall quality of representation.