Ivan Stupachenko
UKRAINE
Ukrainian IT companies, the Digital Transformation Ministry, local investment funds and accelerators established a non-government and non-profit trade association Techosystem. The association will promote local IT industry and build relationships between the industry and the government. [Source: Dou.ua]
E-COMMERCE IN KYRGYZSTAN
China’s second-biggest marketplace JD.com starting operations in Kyrgyzstan in two to three months, according to Economist.kg citing a local ecommerce association official. The country’s vendors will access JD’s global marketplace through a special landing page dedicated to goods from Kyrgyzstan. [Source: Economist.kg]
Russian marketplace Ozon will open its regional marketplace Ozon.kg in Kyrgyzstan in May, making it the third expansion following Kazakhstan and Belarus. The company plans to open a logistics center outside Bishkek as well as a support center for entrepreneurs. [Source: Interfax]
UZBEKISTAN
500 Global investment fund has invested an undisclosed sum in an Uzbekistan Muslim finance startup UMAN. The company provides two types of services: investment platform IMAN Invest and installment payment service IMAN Pay. [Source: Spot.uz]
An average expat’s compensation in Uzbekistan is often equivalent to the combined salaries of a team he or she manages, says Alyona Vladimirskaya, the founder of recruitment agency Facancy and Ustoz, citing the company’s survey of Uzbekistan top-level management. At the same time, despite higher salaries, expats generally are not content with companies they work for, while the companies are not satisfied with the expats’ performance.
CRYPTO
Cryptocurrency Binance has dropped the 10,000-euro limit for accounts of Russia-based or Russia-citizen clients that had been imposed in compliance with EU sanctions soon after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Clients with more than 10,000 euros in their accounts have been able to withdraw money, but could not conduct any other operations. [Source: RBC]
Binance has again enabled its Russian users to deposit money to their accounts from their Russia-issued bank cards, including Mastercard and Visa. The deposit is made via an intermediary, an online wallet Qiwi. [Source: Kod Durova]
GEORGIA
Gate Pay, a payment service of crypto exchange Gate.io, has signed an agreement with Georgia-based payment service CityPay. The cooperation will open access for more than 600 businesses in Georgia to cryptocurrency payments and the infrastructure of the exchange. [Source: Gate.io]
TAJIKISTAN
The government of Tajikistan plans to start production of e-vehicles in the country as a result of cooperation with China and other Central Asian states, without announcing a clear timeline. Earlier, Tajikistan dropped customs fees on imported e-cars. [Source: Sputnik]
OTHER FUNDRAISING
RTP Global, an investment fund of a Russian prominent investor Leonid Boguslavskiy, has invested in a British fintech startup Yonder. The company develops methods for credibility assessment of those who apply for bank credit cards using the transactions of the applicants. [Source: FinTech Magazine]
Russia-founded and US-based investment fund Day One Ventures has invested in US-based biotech startup Alga Biosciences in a $4-million round. The company developed a special bioactive ingredient for cattle food that reduces the emission of methane by cows and bulls thus contributing to fighting climate change. [Source: Business Insider]
Natalie Novakova
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