AKAK Capital

Venture advisory · Tashkent, Uzbekistan

We build the founders Uzbekistan's venture capital is looking for.

AK Capital is a venture advisory and founder-education firm in Tashkent, founded by Azizbek Kurbonov, former CEO of the bank-backed fund United Ventures and author of the course The Art of The Pitch. We design and run incubation, acceleration and investment-readiness programmes for universities, donors, venture funds and corporates, delivered by a team of more than 10 coaches and mentors.

500+founders trained through The Art of The Pitch
$2M+raised by 100 founders from the Taqdimot accelerator
$160Kinvested in 4 student startups, university co-investing with Yoshlar Ventures
$40.5Mventure fund led as CEO of United Ventures
01Services

What AK Capital does, by client

Every programme connects a classroom or a cohort to the real venture market: funds as judges, investors as mentors, and a demo day where money can actually move.

Universities

Incubation and acceleration inside the university

Programmes built around a university's faculties, students and curriculum, ending in a demo day in front of active investors.

  • Pre-acceleration programmes with venture fund co-investment
  • Startup-as-thesis tracks assessed by investors
  • Credit-bearing startup courses and guest lectures
  • Training of Trainers (ToT) for university staff
Donors, IFIs & government

Venture ecosystem programmes

Design and delivery of entrepreneurship programmes for development partners, with local delivery capacity and materials in Uzbek.

  • Ecosystem development programmes (with UNDP)
  • Investment-readiness programmes for regional startups
  • Founder education materials in Uzbek
  • ToT for universities and government agencies
Venture funds & investors

Deal flow and market entry

Help for local and international funds to find investable founders early and to position themselves in Central Asia.

  • Scouting and pre-acceleration of pipeline
  • Investment-readiness for portfolio candidates
  • Positioning for funds entering Central Asia
Corporates & executives

Executive education and trainings

Master classes and multi-day programmes for C-level teams on growth, scaling and innovation, with international faculty.

  • Executive programmes on scaling within Uzbekistan
  • Corporate innovation and venture trainings
  • Pitch and investor-communication coaching
02Projects

Selected projects

Programmes designed and delivered by Azizbek Kurbonov and the AK Capital team with partners in Uzbekistan's venture ecosystem.

Founder education · Course

The Art of The Pitch

An intensive course that teaches founders to build and deliver an investor pitch: the investor deck, storytelling, types of funds and fundraising strategy, and handling due diligence questions. Run with IT Park Uzbekistan and the StartupBase platform; three batches completed by mid-2025.

Spot.uz announcement

500+founders trained across Uzbekistan
Accelerator · Media

Taqdimot accelerator

Accelerator that prepares founders for Taqdimot, Uzbekistan's startup pitch show, supported by Aloqa Ventures. Founders work on their business model, deck and investor Q&A before pitching on air.

$2M+raised by 100 founders who went through it
University · Pre-acceleration

Turin Polytechnic University × Yoshlar Ventures

Pre-acceleration programme for students at Turin Polytechnic University in Tashkent, organised, coordinated and mentored by Azizbek Kurbonov. Yoshlar Ventures invested in four of the resulting startups, and the university invested directly alongside the fund, a first for Uzbekistan's higher-education system.

4startups funded
about $160K invested in total
University · Degree programme

TEAM University startup thesis

Fourth-year students build a startup over the full academic year. Final assessment comes from active players in Uzbekistan's venture market, and the result counts toward the students' diplomas. Designed with the university's dean; the pilot year is complete and the second year is under way.

2ndacademic year running
Development partner · Ecosystem

Venture ecosystem programmes with UNDP

Ecosystem development work with the United Nations Development Programme in Uzbekistan, including Training of Trainers for universities and education materials for founders in the Uzbek language.

ToTfor universities
materials in Uzbek
Venture fund · Investment readiness

AgriTech investment-readiness programme

Investment-readiness programme run with Yoshlar Ventures for promising agritech projects from regions across Uzbekistan.

Nationalcohort from all regions
University · Teaching

"Launching a Venture" course

A 12-week Level 6 university course taught by Azizbek Kurbonov, with guest lecturers from finance and international retail.

12weeks, Level 6
03About
Azizbek Kurbonov, founder and CEO of AK Capital

Azizbek Kurbonov, Founder and CEO

Founder & CEO, AK Capital · Advisor, Yoshlar Ventures · Tashkent

Azizbek Kurbonov (Азизбек Курбонов, Azizbek Qurbonov) is a Tashkent-based entrepreneur, venture advisor and educator. He has worked on both sides of the venture deal: as a founder who raised investment from local and international funds, and as the CEO of a venture fund.

He co-founded Sug'urta Bozor, the first insurance marketplace in Uzbekistan, which reached 500,000 users in 12 months and raised USD 220,000 from a local venture fund. In 2025 he became CEO of United Ventures, a USD 40.5 million venture fund founded by seven state-owned banks of Uzbekistan, where he developed the fund's investment policy.

Today he leads AK Capital, advises Yoshlar Ventures, and teaches founders and students across Uzbekistan. He has trained or advised more than 500 founders and coached 100+ startups for Taqdimot and Uzcombinator. He speaks at regional events including INMerge Innovation Summit (Baku), StartupStan Summit and ICT Week Uzbekistan.

Education & recognition

BSc in Economics, Westminster International University in Tashkent (2018) · Venture Growth Program, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business · Strategy Executive Program, Yale School of Management (2026) · Study UK Alumni Award · Winner, TikTok Startup Academy pitch competition (2023)

  1. 2025 – presentFounder & CEO, AK Capital
    Venture advisory and founder education
  2. PresentAdvisor, Yoshlar Ventures
  3. 2025CEO, United Ventures
    USD 40.5M fund of seven state banks
  4. 2021 – 2025Co-founder & Co-CEO, Sug'urta Bozor
    First insurance marketplace in Uzbekistan
  5. 2019 – 2021Marketer & Project Manager, FCB
    Communication strategy for leading banks and fintechs
  6. 2014 – 2018Westminster International University in Tashkent
    BSc Economics
04Articles

Articles by Azizbek Kurbonov

Columns on venture education, fundraising and strategy for Central Asian founders and executives.

05Media
06FAQ

Questions people ask about AK Capital

What is AK Capital?

AK Capital is a venture advisory and founder-education firm based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It designs and runs incubation, acceleration and investment-readiness programmes for universities, development partners, venture funds and corporate clients. Its legal entity is AZARI TS IMPEX LLC.

Who founded AK Capital?

Azizbek Kurbonov, former CEO of the United Ventures fund, advisor to Yoshlar Ventures, co-founder of the insurtech startup Sug'urta Bozor and author of the course The Art of The Pitch.

Is AK Capital a venture fund?

No. AK Capital is an advisory and education firm. It works alongside venture funds such as Yoshlar Ventures and Aloqa Ventures to prepare founders for investment, but it does not manage an investment fund.

Which universities has AK Capital worked with?

Turin Polytechnic University in Tashkent, where a pre-acceleration programme led to investments in four startups by Yoshlar Ventures and the university itself, and TEAM University, where students build a startup as part of their final year.

Does AK Capital work with donors and international organisations?

Yes. AK Capital runs venture ecosystem programmes with UNDP in Uzbekistan and delivers training of trainers, investment-readiness programmes and founder materials in Uzbek for development partners.

What is The Art of The Pitch?

A course created by Azizbek Kurbonov that teaches founders to build an investor deck, tell their story, choose the right type of investor and answer due diligence questions. More than 500 founders across Uzbekistan have taken it.

In which languages does AK Capital work?

Uzbek, Russian and English.

Is AK Capital related to other companies with the same name?

No. AK Capital in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is not affiliated with companies named AK Capital in other countries.

Planning a programme for founders or students?

Write with a short description of your organisation, the audience and the timeline. We reply within two working days.

Email
az.kurbonov@gmail.com
LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/azizbek-kurbonov
Telegram channel
t.me/praktikAzizbek
Instagram
instagram.com/az.kurbonov
Office
Tashkent, Uzbekistan