LocationsThe Alchemy of an Inventor's Destiny
June 19, 2025
In the garage of an ordinary house in Uzbekistan, a little boy takes apart toys in his makeshift laboratory. His hands move with remarkable precision, his eyes concentrated on studying every detail. This is Alisher Fayzullaev — the future director of the IT Park branch in Karakalpakstan, though no one could have predicted it then. "My parents gave me toys, and I took them apart to understand how they worked," recalls Alisher.
"You are descendants of Al-Khwarizmi"
Fate led Alisher first to the Gubkin University branch in Tashkent, then to the Higher School of Economics. It was there, in micro- and macroeconomics classes where many students gave up under the pressure of mathematical approaches, that Alisher unexpectedly excelled.
"You'll solve the problem before I finish dictating the assignment," his professor Akimov D.V. would joke. "You're from Uzbekistan. Everything is clear about you — you're descendants of Al-Khwarizmi."
And Alisher would just smile to himself: "If only you could see the guys who are smarter than me..." The fact that this once-distracted student became a financial analyst at KPMG (Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler) — one of the largest international consulting companies of the "Big Four," working on the 39th floor of a business center, seemed like an incredible twist of fate.
Return to Childhood Dreams
The year 2020 turned many lives upside down, and Alisher was no exception. Remote work during the pandemic gave him the opportunity to return to Uzbekistan, as if closing a circle, bringing him back to where it all began — to invention.
"I realized I could work with robotics, I could create something," he recalls. "Before, I didn't understand, I thought that to study robotics, you needed to be born again (laughs), because you need to learn this from childhood to be able to create anything robotic."
Working as a teacher at the presidential school in Nukus, Alisher accidentally came across an announcement about the IT Park incubation program. "But I'm not an IT person," he doubted. However, in just one week, Alisher created a prototype device for a smart home and submitted an application.
Seven Devices in Three Months
The IT Park general director offered Alisher a project with a budget of 27 million som. In three months, he created seven devices: a smart bulb, surveillance camera, door opening system, air humidifier, and automation system for farmers.
"In a week I learned to make 3D models in SolidWorks software, I wanted everything to look beautiful," says Alisher, demonstrating an amazing ability for rapid learning. He soldered boards himself, programmed controllers, and printed cases on a 3D printer.
"Every passionate person can create something incredible. From the outside, it seems romantic to create devices in a garage, but the romance disappears when faced with real difficulties. In development, only those who really enjoy creating something of their own remain."
IT Park and UNDP: Synergy for Innovation
2023 became a turning point in Alisher's fate. The Karakalpakstan IT Park and the UNDP startup support project seemed to unite their efforts to give the talented inventor exactly the push that was needed.
"I participated in the UNDP project to support startups and, winning a grant, received the necessary equipment," says Alisher. This moment of synergy between the local technology hub and the international organization became a catalyst that transformed Alisher's homemade devices into a commercially viable product.
The equipment received through the UNDP grant allowed him to reach a completely new technological level. Now Alisher didn't have to wait long for boards from China — he could quickly produce printed circuit boards for prototypes of his devices, significantly speeding up the development process.
"Without this support, I might not have achieved what I've achieved now, since UNDP support significantly increased my productivity," admits Alisher. "IT Park and UNDP gave me not just support and equipment, but the opportunity to turn an idea into a real product in demand in the market."
Alisher Fayzullaev demonstrating the Smart Water device
Smart Water: A Solution for Arid Land
Using the equipment received from UNDP, Alisher created what is perhaps his most significant invention — Smart Water, a device for automated measurement of water levels in canals.
In Karakalpakstan — a region experiencing acute water shortage — this invention proved so in demand that the Republic's Ministry of Water Resources announced a tender for the production of 89 such devices. And Alisher won it, becoming the only producer of such technology in the region.
"Before this, water levels were measured manually, can you imagine? In the 21st century!" Alisher marvels. "And now Smart Water does it automatically, with millimeter precision, transmitting data in real time."
It was this technology, born at the intersection of Alisher's own talent and UNDP support, that became not just a successful business, but an important step in solving one of the region's most acute problems — rational use of water resources.
Leading the Technological Breakthrough
In 2024, Alisher was appointed director of the IT Park branch in Karakalpakstan — the place where he once brought his first device and which, together with UNDP, gave him a ticket to technological entrepreneurship. By this time, IT Park buildings were functioning in Tashkent and Nukus. The President, visiting the Karakalpakstan IT Park, gave instructions to build similar facilities throughout the country.
"My main task now is to create the same opportunities for others that I received," explains Alisher. "Attract foreign IT companies, support local startups, create jobs for youth. And in this, we continue to cooperate with other international organizations."
"Successful companies are already working in IT Park: Unicall — a call center with 100 employees; Hupo — a company with $4 million in investment, headquarters in Singapore and a branch in Nukus; SoftUM IT School — an educational center with a team of 20 programmers," says Alisher.
Looking to the Future
In 2025, $10 million from the "IT Park Ventures" venture fund will be invested in promising startups under IT Park management. And this initiative echoes UNDP's approach — supporting local innovations, giving momentum to the most promising ideas.
"Cooperation with UNDP showed us how important support is in the initial stages," says Alisher. "That's why we're creating a venture fund to help startups the way they once helped me."
"I think now is exactly the moment when our youth need to engage in startups, because there are many opportunities," says Alisher with the enthusiasm of someone who has walked this path. "In a couple of years, it will be harder: there will be more startups, and it will be harder to stand out to investors."
Particularly relevant, in his opinion, are startups related to AI agents (artificial intelligence agents) and programs that facilitate work.
"I often think that in our changing landscape we need to come up with something unique that could be implemented," he admits. And in these words, lies the essence of the UNDP and IT Park partnership: connecting dreams with opportunities, transforming them into technologies that change people's lives for the better.
Perhaps it is this constant thirst to create something new that distinguishes those who can turn a childhood laboratory in a garage into the technological future of an entire region. After all, Alisher Fayzullaev proved: even if you take apart toys instead of playing with them, this can be the beginning of an amazing journey. Especially when organizations ready to believe in your talent and give it the opportunity to flourish meet you on this path.
