At the beginning of September this year, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade presented the E-Commerce Program for 2025-2029, which, according to its authors, "aims to expand e-commerce, create opportunities to reduce costs associated with trade organization, simplify trade procedures, and facilitate faster cashless transactions."
The Program is expected to be implemented using funds from the state budget, technical assistance from development partners, direct foreign investments, private sector contributions, and other sources.
"The total funding for the Program in its initial phase amounts to 305.9 million somonis (about US$30 million)," the document states. Specifically, 112.9 million somonis are planned to be allocated from the state budget, 135.4 million somonis from development partners, and 57.6 million somonis from the private sector.
The Program will be implemented in three stages: the first from 2025-2027, the second in 2028, and the third in 2029.
E-commerce is identified as a priority (digital trade) in Tajikistan’s Digital Economy Concept, with the following key directions:
- Regulation of digital trade, enhancement of digital and financial literacy for both the general population and entrepreneurs, focusing on the development of trade, infrastructure, and e-logistics.
- Priority will also be given to creating support infrastructure, including direct and indirect measures such as establishing service centers and promoting e-commerce (E-commerce and Fulfillment).
Current market conditions
The Program highlights that the e-commerce space in Tajikistan is currently limited to websites offering product listings and advertisements, with payments and deliveries often carried out offline.
Somon.tj is the most popular website, with over 600,000 users per month, offering a wide range of products.
However, due to unfavorable conditions for cargo transportation to/from the country, international trade platforms have a limited presence. Promoting the sale of local goods through global trade portals is seen as a priority for foreign trade development.
The Program’s authors believe that one of the main challenges for e-commerce in Tajikistan is the high cost of goods and services sold online, which limits its growth given the country's low purchasing power.
Electronic payments
According to the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT), in the first half of 2024, non-cash transactions in Tajikistan's trade and service sectors, using electronic payment methods (cards and e-wallets), amounted to 12.8 billion somonis ($1.2 billion), which is 2.3 times more than the same period in 2023. The ratio of non-cash payments to cash withdrawals was 25% to 75% during this time.
As of mid-2024, there were 7.6 million bank cards in circulation, a 28.7% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Additionally, there were 2,654 ATMs and 3,597 electronic cash withdrawal terminals in operation, reflecting growth rates of 36.3% and 28.6%, respectively, over 2023.
Furthermore, 7,939 POS-terminals and 16,472 QR codes (the latter decreased by 17.8% due to a transition to a unified QR code system) were available for non-cash payments in businesses.
The number of electronic wallets stood at 10.4 million as of June 30, 2024, up by 39.0% compared to the same period in 2023. Between January and June 2024, 8.6 million non-cash transactions were made via e-wallets, amounting to 1.2 billion somoni, an increase of 16.2% in volume and 45.6% in value compared to the same period in 2023.
While non-cash payments, including for e-commerce, continue to grow, cybersecurity remains a major challenge. Both the regulatory framework for cybersecurity and the infrastructure for protecting personal data require further improvement.
Internet challenges
The Program’s developers emphasize that Tajikistan’s existing internet infrastructure, a key element for e-commerce, needs significant upgrades in terms of access, speed, and affordability.
As a landlocked country, Tajikistan relies on road networks in neighboring countries for routing internet traffic. The distance to submarine cables connected to global internet hubs makes international connectivity costly for internet service providers and consumers alike.
The "Internet Society" notes that Tajikistan's telecommunications sector suffers from high costs of international data transmission, expensive services and equipment for the population, a lack of independent local hosting services, and limited development of local content.
Most mobile companies in Tajikistan use fiber optic lines through Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to access key Russian networks, including a transit cable between Europe and Asia. Despite a significant number of mobile operators, competition in Tajikistan's small market is minimal.
Although initial liberalization in the early 2000s led to a sharp increase in services, the sector has since stagnated. Only 21% of the population currently uses the internet, placing the country near the bottom in terms of regional internet access and coverage.
