Uzbekistan secures $50Mn World Bank loan to boost global IT, BPO jobs
TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN — Uzbekistan has secured a US$50 million concessional loan from the World Bank to accelerate its digital economy and expand employment in information technology-enabled services (ITeS) and business process outsourcing (BPO).
According to a report from Daryo, the initiative aims to develop the country’s talent pipeline, incentivize companies to hire locally, and position Uzbekistan as a regional IT hub by the end of the decade.
Expanding rural IT training and digital skills
The Uzbekistan Digital Inclusion Project, which IT Park Uzbekistan operates through its collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Technologies, will provide training to thousands of young people under 30 years old who live in rural and remote locations.
“The new World Bank-supported project will help Uzbekistan use IT-enabled services as a catalyst for economic growth, job creation and foreign investment,” said Marco Mantovanelli, World Bank country manager for Uzbekistan.
“It will train thousands of young people under the age of 30 in rural and remote locations and provide incentives for ITES companies to employ them,” Mantovanelli added.
By 2029, the program is expected to generate approximately 25,000 jobs in the ITeS sector and an additional 15,000 jobs in related industries.
The comprehensive curriculum covers communication skills, computer literacy skills, and foreign language skills, including English. Focused on inclusivity, the initiative will train approximately 6,200 youths in total, specifically prioritizing 3,100 women and 250 individuals with disabilities.
Furthermore, ITeS companies participating in the program will be financially incentivized to hire roughly 9,000 young workers, a quota that includes 4,500 women and 360 individuals with disabilities.
To facilitate nationwide expansion, the project will establish up to 11 regional ITeS centers offering modern office spaces for tech companies. Officials anticipate that this supportive infrastructure will attract 240 new ITeS companies to become residents of IT Park Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan’s 2030 strategy for global outsourcing growth
The loan demonstrates how multilateral development funding creates future offshore talent pools through its financial support, with Uzbekistan emerging as a case study.
While the country’s ITES exports grew from US$600,000 in 2017 to US$140 million in 2022, the broader ICT sector still accounted for only 1.9% of GDP in 2022, signaling massive untapped potential.
To capitalize on this, the Uzbekistan–2030 National Development Strategy is targeting US$5 billion in annual IT exports, 1,000 foreign IT companies, and 300,000 technology-sector jobs for young people.
Most of these measures focus on strengthening skills for the youth, establishing digital technology hubs, and promoting women’s employment in the digital technology field.
The World Bank-supported project develops a system that combines skill training with monetary rewards and local infrastructure development to create a sustainable offshore labor force.
Uzbekistan’s US$50 million investment demonstrates a larger outsourcing industry trend in which international markets are shifting to become new talent centers that fulfill global BPO and ITeS needs through their combination of skilled workers, favorable regulations, and international funding.
