On 10 September 2026, a seminar for the entrepreneurs of Samarkand region was held in the city of Samarkand in cooperation between the Graduate School of Business and Entrepreneurship, the Samarkand Regional Administration and the Wildberries e-commerce platform.

Samarkand region is one of the major production centres of the Republic. In the first half of 2026, industrial products worth 32.7 trillion soums were produced in the region, and the food, electrical engineering, textile, plastics and chemical industries are well developed.

Textiles, clothing, plastic products, dried fruit and handicrafts are the traditional strong areas of the region, and more than 2,000 artisans are operating there. In 2025, the region's exports reached 1.2 billion US dollars.

At the same time, a large part of these products is still sold in the traditional way, in many cases through intermediaries. The producer does not see the buyer, does not set the price himself and does not know the real demand. E-commerce shortens this chain. The seminar dwelt specifically on these issues. E-commerce makes it possible to sell clothing sewn in Samarkand, Urgut suzani, Bulungur raisins or local handicrafts to buyers not only in the regional market, but also in all regions of Uzbekistan and in foreign markets.

International experience confirms the effectiveness of e-commerce. In particular, in Turkey in 2025 more than 634,000 enterprises were engaged in e-commerce, and 75 per cent of them are individual entrepreneurs. The share of e-commerce in total trade reached 19.3 per cent, and its share in GDP reached 6.9 per cent. Also, in Russia in 2025 the volume of online trade grew by 28 per cent over the year and accounted for 18.8 per cent of retail trade. Clothing, footwear and household goods are among the best-selling goods there. In Kazakhstan, the share of e-commerce in retail trade was 14.3 per cent in 2025, and 86 per cent of online sales were made through marketplaces.

Today, in conditions where the source of income of every family is being clearly identified at the mahalla and district level in our Republic and financial support for family entrepreneurship and youth business is being expanded, e-commerce is one of the effective tools for women, young people and small producers that does not require shop rental or large start-up capital.

The seminar was held in the format of an open dialogue and a practical session. Wildberries specialists presented to participants, using specific examples, how to register on the platform as a seller, how to present a product in a way that attracts the attention of buyers, the procedure for delivering goods to the platform's warehouse or shipping them from their own warehouse, and how to analyse sales results and correctly select the product range.

During the event, the specialists answered the entrepreneurs' questions on selling their products on the e-commerce platform and explained the first steps for starting sales on the platform.

This seminar is a continuation of the systematic work carried out by the Graduate School of Business and Entrepreneurship on developing e-commerce in the regions of the Republic, and this year alone such seminars have been organised for local entrepreneurs in Fergana, Sirdaryo and Jizzakh regions and in Tashkent city.