How guys from Dushanbe launched the first e-commerce SaaS platform in Tajikistan

Abror Kholov, cities — Dushanbe, Tashkent, IT entrepreneur, Linkedin , Instagram 

How It All Began

I have been passionate about technology and business since an early age. Before founding Wyzo, I established and led an IT company, engaged in business consulting, and helped companies implement digital solutions for seven years. The main problem I constantly faced was the lack of accessible and effective tools for running online businesses in Tajikistan.

The idea for Wyzo emerged from a real market demand. Small and medium-sized businesses face high costs for developing online stores, maintaining them, and difficulties in organizing logistics and payment systems. My partner and co-founder of Wyzo, Rasul Idiev, worked for about 10 years with corporate enterprises in the e-commerce sector in several countries, including Germany and Turkey.

Combining my experience in business management with his technical vision in the IT field, we created an ideal synergy to help businesses with digital transformation and mastering e-commerce. As a result, a SaaS platform was created that simplifies entrepreneurs' transition to online and provides them with everything needed for successful operation in line with current market trends.

The Team

We started with a small team of enthusiasts who believed in the digitalization of business in Tajikistan. In the early stages, we worked closely with local entrepreneurs: we studied their needs and adapted the platform to real business processes.

The team included developers who co-created Wyzo, while I assisted with business analytics. Our first significant achievement was participating in the EBRD Star Venture Program and becoming a resident of IT Park Uzbekistan, which helped structure our business model and accelerate development.

Target Audience

Wyzo is designed for SMEs that aim to go online but face technical and financial barriers. However, we do not limit ourselves to this; the platform can also be used to launch e-commerce for large retailers, including marketplaces.

Who can benefit from Wyzo:

— local stores that want to launch online trading

— product manufacturers who want to sell directly to customers

— service providers who want to manage their services

— women entrepreneurs and young people who need an accessible platform to start a business

— social media sellers who need analytics, order management, and customer consultation tools

— entrepreneurs who need automation even though they already sell online but have low efficiency.

Today, Wyzo is used by more than 16 businesses, one of which is a large Enterprise client. We collaborate with partners and government programs to support business digitalization.

Learn more on the website — submit a request, and Wyzo specialists will contact you.

Incubation Programs

Wyzo became a resident of IT Park Uzbekistan and a participant in the EBRD Star Venture Program. These programs helped improve our business strategy, establish contacts with potential investors, and receive support in development.

We actively present Wyzo on the international stage, participating in GITEX, Seamless, Biban, and Web Summit.

Challenges

Like any startup, Wyzo overcame several difficulties:

— launching a SaaS requires significant investment, so we actively sought partners and donors

— we had to make five technical pivots to arrive at the scalable platform architecture that fit our vision and customer requirements

— since digital literacy in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan is still developing, we not only provide the tool but also train entrepreneurs on how to use it, which slows down sales

— legal barriers: we constantly adapt to the evolving legislation in the e-commerce sector.

Advice for startups: start small and constantly test hypotheses. Working with your first customers is your most valuable resource.

Achievements

We launched the first e-commerce SaaS platform in Tajikistan and are in the process of signing a strategic e-commerce partnership agreement with a major bank, as well as with one of the largest retailers and the leading marketing agency in the country. Our partners include EBRD, IT Park Uzbekistan, Accelerate Prosperity, StrategEast, USAID, ACDI/VOCA, and other international donors. We successfully launched beta versions of AI assistants and integrations with social media. We created the ability for businesses to manage omnichannel sales.

Implementing our platform allowed clients to achieve an average GMV growth of 1.5x, as well as ensure automatic horizontal scaling and multi-region deployment to optimize speed. We apply an API-first approach, which allows easy integration of our platform with external systems, and we also implement AI/ML components for personalization and automation of business processes.

Plans

By the end of the year, we plan to launch more than 250 online stores for local businesses within donor programs, partnership agreements, and direct marketing in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Develop a mobile application for a unique sales channel for businesses. Integrate local payment and logistics systems to simplify online trading. Attract investment as part of the startup's Pre-seed round. Also, expand our presence in other regions of Central Asia.