SAMARKAND, UZBEKISTAN — Innovation met environmental sustainability on May 20–21, 2026, as the historic city of Samarkand hosted the prestigious GSMA M360 Eurasia 2026 forum. Organized alongside the Ministry of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Beeline Uzbekistan, VEON, and IT Park Uzbekistan, this major forum brought together international tech experts, investors, and telecom giants to discuss AI, digital infrastructure, and the evolution of the digital economy.
A central highlight of the forum was the semi-final of the Regional Hackathon. Aimed at uniting young innovators from Central Asia and fostering digital solutions for urgent ecological problems, the competition was co-organized by IT Park Uzbekistan, IT Park Ventures, ITU, GSMA, the PROGRESS project, GIZ, and the Kyrgyz State Technical University.
The hackathon challenged teams to build projects using Geo-AI, satellite data, smart monitoring, and platform solutions across four critical tracks: Solar & Energy Efficiency, Smart Water Management, Waste & Circular Economy, and Climate Data & Eco-monitoring.
The Road to Victory
Out of a highly competitive pool of teams representing major hubs across Uzbekistan—including Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara—our team, EnkiVision (Nukus), stood out.
Competing in the Smart Water Management domain, the EnkiVision project leverages advanced satellite data and Geo-AI algorithms to precisely calculate the water requirements of agricultural crops. By delivering exact irrigation data, the platform drastically optimizes water usage and counters regional climate shortages.
Following a rigorous evaluation by an international panel of judges, the final standings for Uzbekistan were announced:
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🥇 1st Place: EnkiVision (Nukus) – Satellite-driven agricultural irrigation optimization.
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🥈 2nd Place: QayTa (Tashkent) – A circular economy ecosystem for waste recycling.
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🥉 3rd Place: EduWatt (Tashkent) – Smart electricity monitoring system for schools.
Next Stop: The Grand Finals in Kyrgyzstan
As the absolute champions of the national semi-final, team EnkiVision will officially represent Uzbekistan in the Grand Finals of the Regional Hackathon, set to take place in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan.
The finalists will battle for a global $5,000 prize pool, with all travel and accommodation expenses fully covered by the international organizers.
This monumental win highlights the growing tech ecosystem in Nukus and underscores our commitment to solving regional ecological crises with world-class engineering. The countdown to Issyk-Kul begins now!