Uzbekistan’s export product is creativity, not methodologies — GRP.uz
MissionOpinionsTerminologyCalculator
Interview

Uzbekistan’s export product is creativity, not methodologies

29 Aug 2026

TL;DR≈ 2 min

The market moves at two speeds: large business is already systematic, while the mid-market lacks strategists — and what Uzbekistan should be exporting today is creativity, not methodologies.

  • The problem is not a lack of tools but the low average level of specialists: with no national school of marketing, there is nowhere for strategists to come from.
  • The intellectual potential of the field is 3–4 points out of 10: specialists of international calibre are few, scattered and outside any single academic system.
  • The creative industry is a genuine growth point: Uzbek creatives win at international festivals and sit on the juries of global competitions.
Who it helps: Business owners, marketing directors, agencies, universitiesWhat to apply: Before expanding your channel mix, assess the level of your team: without a strategist, new tools will only multiply the chaos.

Jamshid Xoliqulov is the founder and director of Fido Studio. He explains why the market lacks strategists rather than tools — and what Uzbekistan is already able to offer the world.

Marketing and advertising in Uzbekistan are developing at an uneven pace. Large business already works systematically, while the mid-market segment is only beginning to enter that process.

The main pain of this transition is a shortage of strategic talent and the difficulty of building effective communication between specialists and business owners.

Systemic problems and the level of specialists

The market’s key problem is not the absence of marketing tools, but the low average level of specialists. With no established national school of marketing, the shortage of strategists is acute.

At the same time, the rules of the game on the market cannot yet be called fully transparent. Large business is extremely conservative, avoids risk and prefers to work exclusively with a narrow circle of trusted partners.

The rise of corporate social responsibility

In recent years corporate social responsibility has become far more visible. Local brands actively support social initiatives and launch their own eco-projects, sports marathons and charity campaigns.

Intellectual potential and the real strength to export

The intellectual potential of the field currently stands at 3–4 points out of 10. There are few specialists of international calibre, they are scattered, and they have no experience of working inside a single academic system.

Uzbekistan does, however, have a unique growth point that it is already offering the world — its creative industry.

In recent years local creatives have regularly won at international advertising festivals and sat on the juries of global competitions.

Local methodologies and platforms for debate

The Uzbek market is capable of more than borrowing: it can successfully implement effective promotion methods, as the cases of leading brands confirm.

Discussion of the industry’s problems long ago moved beyond closed offices — platforms such as Marketing.uz and the TAF festival set the right direction for an ongoing dialogue that now needs to be scaled up.

👁 —