We Fund Ventures is a $10M fund backing creative industries, fintech and edtech teams across Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan — where the talent is world-class and the capital is not yet there.
$10M split deliberately down the middle — half into the creative economy that regional capital keeps ignoring, half into the fintech and edtech infrastructure the region is actively building.
A deliberate, forward-looking bet. Most capital in Central Asia chases fintech and SaaS only; the creative economy here is producing real work with almost no institutional backing behind it.
Primarily fintech and edtech — the two categories where regional demand, regulatory momentum and founder density line up at the same time.
We don't invest in: agriculture, robotics or hardware. If that's your category, we'd rather tell you now than waste your quarter.
Our advantage is structural, not promotional. We are on the ground, we price locally, and we know which teams are real before a deck ever reaches an inbox.
Strong founder talent exists across the region — especially in Kyrgyzstan — and it is structurally underfunded. We can test an idea and take a position at local pricing, then help the company reach global markets. That gap is the whole opportunity.
Not a footnote to the tech half of the fund. A distinct thesis, with its own diligence lens, its own network, and almost no competition for allocation in this region.
IT Park Uzbekistan residency plus on-the-ground relationships across Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. Sourcing here runs on trust, and trust is not something a foreign fund can wire in.
Small checks and low local burn mean a thesis can be proven or killed for a fraction of what it costs elsewhere. We say no clearly and early, and we tell founders why.
The partnership comes out of building and running companies in this region — logistics, compliance, services at scale. We've hired here, sold here, and been wrong here.
Letters of interest and SAFEs, not month-long negotiations. Founders get a decision on a timeline that respects the runway they actually have.
Central Asia is not one market, and we don't pretend it is. Each country has its own regulator, its own capital behaviour and its own founder profile — we underwrite them separately.
No warm-intro requirement, no six-week silence. Here is exactly what happens after you press submit.
One form, no deck gatekeeping. We read everything that comes in and reply either way.
30 minutes on the problem, the team and the market. If it isn't a fit, you'll hear that on the call.
References, product, numbers and structure. Our investment committee memo goes to the full partnership.
A letter of interest, then a SAFE. Standard terms, reviewed by counsel, no surprises in the paperwork.
I have spent thirteen years building operating companies out of Bishkek — logistics, compliance, services — for customers on the other side of the world. In that time I watched the same thing happen again and again: a team here builds something genuinely good, cannot raise fifty thousand dollars locally, and either stalls or leaves.
That is not a talent problem. It is a capital problem, and it is a solvable one. The people who can judge these teams are the people who have hired, paid and occasionally disappointed them. We have. That is the whole basis on which this fund exists.
We put half the fund into creative industries on purpose. Film, production, the software creative people actually use — the region produces this work already, and almost no institutional money in Central Asia is looking at it. The other half goes into fintech and edtech, where demand is obvious and the constraint is execution.
We write small cheques, early, and we say no quickly and with reasons. If you are building here, or you want exposure to what is being built here, the fastest way to start is the form below.
Companies are announced once a round closes and the founders are ready to talk about it. Placeholders below show how the section will read.
One line on what they build and who pays for it.
One line on what they build and who pays for it.
One line on what they build and who pays for it.
One line on what they build and who pays for it.
One line on what they build and who pays for it.
One line on what they build and who pays for it.
Placeholder content. Replace these six cards in public/index.html (search for id="portfolio-grid") as deals are announced.
You will always be talking to someone who can actually make a decision.
Founder and CEO of AITIM GROUP, a multi-vertical holding company in Bishkek with thirteen years of US-facing operations. Board member of AmCham Kyrgyzstan, advisor to the National Investment Fund of the Kyrgyz Republic, and an active mentor to regional founders.
Runs the fund day to day — sourcing, diligence, and portfolio support across all four markets. Owns the investment process from first call through to signed SAFE.
If you know this region's founders better than a database does, tell us. Use the partner form below.
Every submission lands in our inbox at info@wefundventures.com and gets a human reply — including the noes.
That works too. We read everything.
