- Uzbek e-commerce startup Uzum raises $114M to become a unicorn.
- The funding will fuel e-commerce infrastructure and fintech business growth.
- Uzum targets combining businesses into super apps and logistics expansion.
Uzum, an Uzbek e-commerce startup offering online shopping, fintech, and food deliveries, has raised $114 million in a Series A round, achieving a valuation of $1.16 billion and becoming the country’s first unicorn.
The round was led by FinSight Ventures, with participation from Xanara Investment Management and Uzum’s senior management. The startup plans to raise an additional $200 million in a Series B round later this year.
Uzbekistan’s e-commerce new player
Despite high internet and smartphone penetration rates, Uzbekistan’s e-commerce sector accounted for only 2.2% of the country’s total retail market as of December 2022.
Uzum’s co-founder and CEO, Djasur Djumaev, saw an opportunity to establish a cohesive marketplace that offers end-to-end logistics and delivery.
Since its launch in October 2022, Uzum has attracted more than 8 million monthly active users and over 9,000 merchants selling 600,000+ SKUs.
Eyes on fintech business for future
Uzum has successfully ventured into fintech with a buy now, pay later (BNPL) product, which accounts for 45% to 50% of its e-commerce transactions.
The startup has also entered the food delivery business and set up a digital bank to support its growth. Uzum plans to use the fresh funding to expand its fintech business, enhance its e-commerce infrastructure, and launch new products for unsecured lending to individuals and SMEs.
By the end of the year, the company aims to combine its businesses into two super apps and launch the country’s largest logistics complex for e-commerce.
