ISTANBUL
Türkiye’s Take Off startup summit, one of the region’s most prominent tech and startup-related gatherings, is expanding its global reach with an upcoming event in the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan.
The event is scheduled to take place in the southwestern Uzbek city of Samarkand on June 3–4 to form a stronger and more sustainable foundation for mutual interaction between emerging markets, as well as global capital and decision-makers.
Launched in 2018 under the umbrella of TEKNOFEST, which is the world’s largest aerospace and tech event, the Take Off summit was spearheaded by the Türkiye Technology Team Foundation (T3 Foundation) in partnership with the Turkish Industry and Technology Ministry.
Take Off grew from a local tech showcase event into a global launchpad for tech startups over the years, bringing together venture capital funds, multinational corporate leaders, accelerators, and startups from across over 100 countries. The event facilitates direct investor-to-entrepreneur dialogue and has since generated millions of dollars in seed funding and strategic partnerships.
Organizers of the event are taking this established ecosystem eastward, following previous locations like Azerbaijan’s Baku—the event’s leap towards Samarkand, Uzbekistan, marks a massive strategic shift towards unlocking an otherwise untapped Central Asian market.
Uzbekistan boasts a population of 38 million and access to a broader regional market of over 80 million. The country is rapidly emerging as an attractive target for global tech capital.
Uzbekistan’s youth demographic, which is prone to digitalization and has a thriving startup ecosystem, has already attracted more than $550 million in investment in recent years.
Turkish officials from ministries, the T3 Foundation, and Uzbek diplomats shared the vision of the upcoming event during a promotional kickoff event held at the historic Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.
This year’s Take Off Samarkand event, with the motto “where trade routes become innovation networks,” will go beyond regular networking events by facilitating purpose-built access to allow emerging startups to directly connect with the very organizations looking for their specific solutions.
The event in Samarkand will feature curated investor-entrepreneurship pitch meetings, tech-related panel discussions, and specialized collaboration areas designed to turn initial pitches into tangible financial outcomes through business partnerships.
Applications for Take Off Samarkand are currently open, and tech startups from around the world have until April 30 to secure their spot at the event and have the chance to pitch their ideas directly to global investors.
*Writing by Emir Yildirim
