Central Asia eyes place as world’s next fintech frontier

The Silk Road Finance & Technology Forum will bring more than 6,000 policymakers, investors and technology leaders from 74 countries to Tashkent, as Central Asia seeks a bigger role in the global fintech landscape.

For years, the world’s biggest fintech markets have been concentrated in the U.S., Europe and China. They are established ecosystems with deep capital markets, large technology companies, mature digital payment infrastructure and highly developed financial services.

But the next wave of fintech growth is increasingly emerging from developing markets.

Africa has become one of the world’s most active fintech regions, driven by mobile payments, financial inclusion and large underserved populations. In 2025, African technology start-ups attracted about $4.1 billion in funding.

The Middle East is also rapidly strengthening its position as a fintech hub. Fintech funding across the Middle East and North Africa rose sharply in 2025, attracting $4.4 billion - 58 per cent of total start-up investment in the region.

Could Central Asia be the next major fintech frontier?

A young market with room to grow

Central Asia does not yet have the scale of the U.S., Europe or China, nor the fintech investment volumes seen in Africa and the Middle East. But the region’s digital financial infrastructure is still being built, leaving significant room for growth.

More than 80 million people live in Central Asia, and the population is relatively young and increasingly connected to digital services. The Asian Development Bank has identified fintech as an important opportunity for the region, particularly in digital payments, financial inclusion, cross-border trade and open banking.

Uzbekistan is emerging as one of the countries seeking to turn that potential into a regional fintech ecosystem.

The country has more than 100 active fintech companies, while a presidential decree has set a target of 200 licensed fintech firms by 2030. Uzbekistan also aims to attract $1 billion in foreign investment for fintech start-ups, train more than 5,000 specialists and support 100 start-ups through incubation and acceleration programmes.

The country is also establishing a $50 million sovereign venture fund and introducing an open-banking framework.

Uzbekistan’s first unicorn, Uzum, is valued at around $2.3 billion, while the country’s population has surpassed 37 million.

From national markets to a regional opportunity

The bigger opportunity, however, may lie beyond individual countries. Central Asian financial markets remain fragmented, particularly in cross-border payments and financial infrastructure.

That creates challenges for businesses and consumers - but also opportunities for new digital solutions.

Uzbekistan alone receives nearly $18.9 billion in remittances annually, equivalent to around 14 per cent of GDP, making faster and cheaper cross-border payment infrastructure particularly important.

The region is also increasingly experimenting with digital assets, open banking, digital payments and alternative financial services.

Can Central Asia follow earlier fintech hubs?

There are clear differences between Central Asia and the markets that came before it.

The U.S. has enormous capital markets and a highly developed technology sector. Europe has established financial institutions and regulatory frameworks, while China has built massive digital payment ecosystems around its technology platforms.

Africa’s fintech growth has been driven largely by the need to provide basic financial services to underserved populations. The Middle East, meanwhile, has combined large pools of capital with ambitious government-backed digital transformation programmes.

Central Asia is developing its own model

Its opportunity lies partly in connecting several markets that remain relatively underserved while sitting between Europe, China, the Middle East and South Asia.

The region is also becoming more attractive to investors seeking markets where digital financial services still have substantial room to expand.

But significant hurdles remain.

Regulation will need to keep pace with innovation. Payment systems will have to become more compatible. Cross-border transactions will need to become faster and cheaper. Local start-ups will also have to show they can expand beyond their domestic markets.

With the forum expected to become an annual event, the question is no longer only what Central Asia wants to build — but how much of that ambition it can turn into reality before the region gathers again.

Tags

Fintech Central Asia Tashkent China Uzbekistan Middle East