0%
HTP taxes — indefinitely
High Technology Park (HTP) residents are exempt from profit tax, VAT and sales tax. The regime's expiry was removed by a law signed on 14 November 2024 (previously set to end in 2026).
Why Kyrgyzstan
Why Kyrgyzstan — and where to grow
Kyrgyzstan is the region's best jurisdiction to start: indefinite zero HTP taxes, English law and 49 years of zero rates in SFIT Tamchy, a working crypto regime. It is not yet the best place to scale: venture capital is tens of times smaller than neighbours', there are no exits, institutions are weak. Below — every number with a source.
Updated 2026-08-30 · 13 facts · 29 sources · Methodology
What already works
Jurisdiction comparison
Startupland expert assessment (a panel of 8 roles, August 2026). Scale 1–5, where 5 is best for an early-stage startup. Click a country to sort.
| Criterion | Weight | Fact | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taxes | ×3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | F01 |
| Registration & openness | ×3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | F06F07 |
| English law / investor protectionKG: launched, no case record yet | ×5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | F02 |
| Capital | ×5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | G01 |
| Talent | ×4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | G05 |
| Cost | ×3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | F05 |
| Crypto / virtual assets | ×2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | F04 |
| Institutions & risks | ×5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | G03 |
| Ecosystem & exits | ×4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | G02G04 |
| Visas & relocation | ×2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | F06 |
| Infrastructure & banking | ×4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | G06 |
| Weighted total | 100 | 136 | 111 | 180 | 157 | 178 | 157 |
Estonia EE
180
English law / investor protection: 5Institutions & risks: 5Capital: 4
Singapore SG
178
English law / investor protection: 5Capital: 5Institutions & risks: 5
Israel IL
157
English law / investor protection: 5Capital: 5Talent: 5
UAE AE
157
English law / investor protection: 5Capital: 4Institutions & risks: 4
Kazakhstan KZ
136
English law / investor protection: 4Taxes: 5Capital: 3
Uzbekistan UZ
111
Taxes: 5Registration & openness: 4Talent: 3
Kyrgyzstan KG
100
Taxes: 5Cost: 5Registration & openness: 4
Scores are expert judgement, not statistics; weights reflect early-stage priorities.
What already works
49 лет
English law and zero rates — SFIT Tamchy
New · 2026
The Special Financial Investment Territory (SFIT) on Issyk-Kul (Law No. 136 of 10.07.2025, about 6,000 ha). Disputes are resolved under English law at the International Dispute Resolution Centre (IDRC). For residents: 0% on profit, dividends, capital gains and VAT for 49 years; 100% foreign ownership and free repatriation of profit; settlements in any currency, including crypto; visas of up to 5 years for foreign employees and their families; social-contribution exemption; company redomiciliation without reorganization. Opened on 3 July 2026 with first residents from five countries.
The IDRC has no case record yet; cabinet regulations are still being aligned with the law (July 2026). Stated plans: 3,900 companies and 10,000 jobs by 2035, $20B of investment by 2031.
↗ Economist.kg · 2026-07-25↗ Economist.kg · 2026-07-04↗ 24.kg · 2025-07-15↗ СоюзПравоИнформ · 2025-07-10↗ Economist.kg · 2026-06-02↗ Banks.kg · 2026-02-17↗ Gazeta.kg · 2026-07-03
+50%
IT exports grow faster than the region
HTP residents' 2025 revenue — 17.1 billion soms ($195.4M), +50% year over year. Exports — $186.3M (95.3% of revenue) to 70 countries. 463 resident companies, about 3,000 jobs.
The pace is an advantage, the scale is a growth point: HTP exports are 2.6× smaller than Astana Hub's.
Benchmarks
$31 млрд
A crypto regime since 2022 — with real volume
The Law on Virtual Assets has been in force since 2022. Licensed VASP volume in 2025 — 2.73 trillion soms (about $30–31B) across 2.12M+ transactions — more than the country's GDP (about $14B). Sector taxes in 2025 — about $22.8M.
94% of the volume is exchange-office operations rather than exchanges or investment products; part of the flows is linked to sanctions-related trade. A compliance and reputational risk for companies with US/EU clients.
↗ Akchabar (данные Госфиннадзора) · 2026↗ The Diplomat · 2026-04-08↗ Tekedia · 2026-02-13
~$490
Team cost
The average salary in Kyrgyzstan is 42,919 soms per month (January–October 2025), about $490.
5 лет
Visas and relocation
Digital-nomad status became a permanent procedure on 30 April 2025 (Cabinet Resolution No. 241): a PIN, the right to open accounts and work without a work permit. In SFIT Tamchy — visas of up to 5 years for foreign employees and families, hiring foreigners without special permits.
Benchmarks
- EE — e-Residency: 4 818 компаний открыто e-резидентами в 2024 году, 117 000+ e-резидентов↗
Where we need to grow
$3 млн
Venture capital
in progress
Venture investment into Kyrgyz startups — $3M in 2025 (2024 — $1.7M, 2023 — $1.1M). The region overall — $320M in 2025, 61% of it two deals: Higgsfield ($130M) and Uzum ($65.5M).
KZ $209 млн×70
Benchmarks
What closes the gap
A co-financing fund for private funds (the Yozma model), tax incentives for angels, allowing pension assets into venture (RISE recommends 15–22%). Two venture-financing bills are before the Jogorku Kenesh (June 2026).
↗ RISE Research · 2026↗ ANI / The Tribune · 2026-05-03↗ Forbes.kz · 2026-04-03↗ Economist.kg · 2025-03-19↗ RISE Research / KPMG · 2025-03↗ Tazabek · 2026-06-02↗ Tazabek · 2026-04-06
0
Unicorns and exits
no movement
Kyrgyzstan has no unicorns and no publicly known large exits. Kazakhstan got its first unicorn in 2025 — Higgsfield AI ($1.3B valuation, $130M Series A); Uzbekistan — Uzum ($65.5M round).
What closes the gap
A first international exit above $50M; stories of founders who reached US and EU markets — the Startupland database collects them.
26/100
Institutions and corruption perception
in progress
Corruption Perceptions Index 2025 (Transparency International): Kyrgyzstan — 26 points, 142nd of 182 (2024 — 25 points, 146th). The world average is 42.
SG 84 балла×3
What closes the gap
Score growth three years in a row; independent arbitration (Tamchy's IDRC as a first step); rule predictability on a 5+ year horizon.
↗ Kaktus.media · 2026-02-11↗ Transparency Kazakhstan · 2026-02-10
3-е в ЦА
Ecosystem visibility
in progress
Global Startup Ecosystem Index (StartupBlink): Kyrgyzstan — #101 globally and 3rd in Central Asia, Bishkek — #695; only 26 startups from the country make the index. Uzbekistan — #79 and “Country of the Year 2026”, Kazakhstan — #71.
The StartupBlink counter is algorithmic (traffic, investment, headcount) and undercounts real companies — a data gap Startupland closes. Verify Kyrgyzstan's position against the GSEI 2026 PDF before publication.
What closes the gap
A public verified database of startups, investors and deals; the annual State of Startupland: Kyrgyzstan report.
~3 000
Engineering pool scale
no movement
HTP resident companies employ about 3,000 people (2025).
KZ Astana Hub: 28 000+ рабочих мест×9
Benchmarks
- KZ — Astana Hub: 28 000+ рабочих мест (2024)↗
What closes the gap
More than 10,000 developers in export companies, retaining relocated talent, English as a working language.
94%
Banking and the sanctions perimeter
in progress
94% of 2025 crypto volume went through exchange offices rather than exchanges; the country is described as a “crypto corridor” between Russian flows, Central Asia and China. For companies with US/EU clients this is a risk for account opening and international transfers.
What closes the gap
Clean correspondent channels, KYC standards for VASPs, banking products for IT exporters. Crypto-exchange capital requirements were tightened from 1 January 2026.
↗ Akchabar (данные Госфиннадзора) · 2026↗ The Diplomat · 2026-04-08↗ CryptoRank · 2025-09-09
96-е
Innovation outputs
no movement
Global Innovation Index 2025 (WIPO): Kyrgyzstan ranks 96th; strengths — education spending and microfinance, weaknesses — innovation outputs.
What closes the gap
Patents and products, not just services; university programs with an export path.
What changed in 2024–2026
2024-11-14
The HTP tax regime became indefinite
2025-04-30
Permanent digital-nomad status procedure (Cabinet Resolution No. 241)
2025-07-10
Law No. 136 on SFIT Tamchy: English law, 0% for 49 years, its own regulator
2026-01-01
Crypto-exchange capital requirements tightened
2026-02
SFIT Tamchy construction begins; the Justice Ministry and the UK embassy discuss launching the IDRC
2026-06-02
First SFIT business centre opens (3,850 m²), resident intake begins
2026-06-02
The Jogorku Kenesh considers two venture-financing bills
2026-07-03
Official opening of SFIT Tamchy, first residents from five countries
2026-07-25
IDRC law signed: English law, 5-year visas, social-contribution exemption, redomiciliation
Who Kyrgyzstan is the best choice for
Yes
- ✓Bootstrapped B2B SaaS with international clients
- ✓Outsourcing, outstaffing and dev centres
- ✓Crypto and fintech projects ready for VASP licensing
- ✓Relocating founders
- ✓Companies that need a common-law structure inside the EAEU (Tamchy)
Not yet
- —Startups planning to raise equity rounds locally
- —Deep tech needing a large engineering pool and R&D grants
- —Products for the domestic consumer market
- —Companies sensitive to the sanctions perimeter
Methodology
Every fact has a status: VERIFIED — all its sources have URLs and the fact is displayed; NEEDS_URL — a source is not confirmed by a link and the fact is hidden until it is. Each fact carries an as-of date. Jurisdiction-comparison scores are expert judgement on a 1–5 scale.
Known data discrepancies: the number of Kyrgyz startups — 26 (StartupBlink's algorithmic counter) versus hundreds in RISE / Tracxn databases; HTP resident counts vary across publications from 350 to 463 depending on the date; 2025 crypto volume — $20.5–32B depending on methodology.
Sources
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