From the steppes to the desert: which startups from Central Asia are conquering the MENA market

Startups from our region are strengthening their presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) markets. Below is an overview of projects that have already begun forming sustainable connections with the MENA ecosystem and establishing themselves within it.

Kazakhstan

CodiPlay
CodiPlay offers innovative solutions for general education schools based on cutting-edge technologies. Through its platform, schools teach students digital literacy. The company plans to strengthen its presence in the MENA region by connecting with 3,000 schools over the next two years.

Push30
A fitness tech startup providing users with a single digital subscription for access to sports clubs and studios. Push30 focuses on developing corporate wellness systems and integrating with HR platforms.

Qalan
Artificial intelligence in educational and corporate products is the core of the Kazakh startup Qalan. In spring 2025, it was presented at Dubai AI Week as part of the Central Asian Innovation Hubs delegation—a new regional platform supporting the expansion of technology companies.

Dereknet
Dereknet helps manage urban transportation using neural networks. The startup showcased its developments at Dubai AI Week—the platform enables tracking of public transport, making its operations more accurate and efficient. Such technologies are in high demand in MENA countries. Currently, Dereknet is launching pilot projects in the region.

Porte
Porte offers a digital concierge for hotels—guests can open their room doors, order food, and other services online via smartphone. This SaaS solution completely replaces traditional magnetic keys and is available through mobile and web applications.

Uzbekistan

GEOMOTIVE
A startup transforming outdoor advertising using geodata analytics. It manages 106,000 advertising surfaces and is already expanding into MENA and UK markets, collaborating with international brands.

Startup Garage
One of the most prominent examples of expansion is the Uzbek venture project Startup Garage, which opened full-scale offices in Doha and Casablanca in spring. This is the first case where a Central Asian studio establishes a real physical presence in the MENA region. Offices in these regions serve as "gateways" for other startups from Uzbekistan and neighboring countries, helping them adapt to local market specifics.

Unitlab
The Tashkent-developed platform Unitlab accelerates data processing for training ML models by 10–15 times. This solution has already attracted interest from several research institutes in MENA working with large datasets.

askAlem
askAlem is a platform that helps companies automate customer communications and internal processes. Thanks to participation in GITEX Europe 2025 and membership in the CA Alliance, the startup gained access to investment and partnership opportunities in the region. Currently, the project is working on integrating with Arabic language models for localization.

Tajikistan

zypl.ai
The startup zypl.ai, creating credit scoring solutions without relying on credit history, is actively developing in the MENA region. The company opened an office in Dubai, obtained a license in DIFC, and launched pilot projects with banks in the UAE. zypl.ai’s solutions help expand financial access for SMEs and migrants in Gulf countries.