Episode 30 - Nikolay Seleznev
In this episode, I sit down with Nikolay Seleznev, Co-Founder of Uzum.
Guests
Show notes
In this episode, I sit down with Nikolay Seleznev, Co-Founder of Uzum.
Nikolay started as a very traditional investment banker, at FX Trader In Mosca first, and then with JPM in London and Arthur D. Little later on. But his real passion was entrepreneurship and more specifically fintech, and he found a greenfield of opportunities in Uzbekistan.
He launched Uzum in 2022 along with Djasur Djumaev, and they quickly grew it to be Uzbekistan’s first unicorn after a $70M series A in 2024. Uzum started its journey in Uzbekistan with an e-commerce marketplace called Uzum Market, and shortly after its success, the startup added fintech with a debit card and later expanded into its express food delivery service, Uzum Tezkor.
With him, we talked about the very basic dynamics of venture markets, the impact of AI on the global economy, but also why he thinks virtual assets and metaverse will be one of the main trends to watch.
In this episode
Nikolay Seleznev explains how Uzum became Uzbekistan's first tech unicorn by building e-commerce and fintech together in a country opening up after 2017. He describes launching several businesses at once, building its own logistics network, becoming the top marketplace within eight weeks, and issuing millions of cards with pre-approved credit. He explains why Uzum stays focused on Uzbekistan and owns its infrastructure, and sees QR payments and regionalisation shaping payments.
Chapters
- 0:00Introduction and Uzum
- 2:11From investment banking to e-commerce and fintech
- 5:06Why Uzbekistan
- 7:23Launching everything at once
- 10:45Hockey-stick growth
- 14:11Building a branchless bank
- 16:00Licences and regulators
- 18:22Raising capital from Central Asia
- 22:34Staying focused on Uzbekistan
- 24:37How Uzum is organised
- 26:38Owning the infrastructure
- 28:00Trends: AI, QR and regionalisation
- 33:08What he would build today
- 39:30Advice for founders
Key facts
Nikolay worked in investment banking and management consulting in London and across EMEA before co-founding Uzum almost four years ago.
Uzum builds e-commerce and fintech as one ecosystem in Uzbekistan and became the country's first tech unicorn in 2024.
About four years ago half of Uzbek adults had no bank account, e-commerce penetration was about 1.5% and online sales totalled around $200 million.
Uzum became Uzbekistan's number one e-commerce player within eight weeks of launch.
Uzum built its own logistics network and guarantees next-day delivery to any settlement of 10,000 or more people.
Uzum issued more than 2.8 million debit cards with pre-approved credit limits in under 12 months and targets 5 million by year-end and 10 million by 2026.
Uzum's pickup points are becoming mini branches with ATMs and staff who sell its financial services.
Uzum holds banking and microfinance licences.
Uzum raised about $70 million in March 2024, becoming a unicorn, and about $70 million more in 2025 in a round led by Tencent and VR Capital at a $1.5 billion valuation.
Almost 60% of Uzum's e-commerce sales are paid with its own payment methods, including BNPL and cards.
Uzum runs its own core banking system and card processing, partnering with Visa.
Small and medium enterprises generate about half of Uzbekistan's GDP.
In emerging markets you must own and operate your infrastructure, from warehouses to core banking, up to a point.
Plastic cards will give way to QR and mobile payments over five to ten years, and payments will regionalise.
Lenders in emerging markets should start with fee-based products that generate data before offering larger loans.
Questions and answers
Why build in Uzbekistan?
Reforms since 2017 opened a large, underserved market that was ready for change.
How did Uzum grow so fast?
By launching several businesses at once with autonomous leaders and building trust through physical logistics nationwide.
Will Uzum expand abroad?
Not yet: it wants to win Uzbekistan first, where it is only scratching the surface.