Azamat Sultanov and his plan to change the lives of thousands of people in Africa

Tajik entrepreneur and investor Azamat Sultanov, a member of the supervisory board of Alif Bank, co-founder of the educational initiative Peshraft, and founder of international mobility and fintech company GoCab, is building a business in Africa aimed at helping thousands of drivers and couriers become vehicle owners. GoCab combines transportation, finance and technology, offering a mobility model designed not only to provide people with work but also to help them gradually acquire their own vehicles. At the heart of the model is the Drive-to-Own concept, under which drivers make payments toward vehicle ownership while building capital and developing their own businesses. Over the past two years, the company has expanded into eight countries across three continents. For Sultanov, however, the goal goes beyond growing revenue.

He says he wants to show young people from Central Asia that it is possible to build a global business regardless of where they were born. Khujand roots and childhood lessons Sultanov was born in Dushanbe but spent every summer in Khujand, where he was exposed to the city’s trading culture and entrepreneurial spirit. “In Khujand, there is a street with nearly thirty pharmacies. For a child, it was the first hands-on introduction to competition, to how people build businesses, find their place, and learn to survive in a market environment,” he recalls. Sultanov’s father was a diplomat, and the family moved frequently, living in Russia, Turkey and Ukraine before he spent 16 years in the United Kingdom. These experiences exposed him to different cultures and showed him that the world extends far beyond the borders of any one country. His youth was shaped by an interest in economics, technology and entrepreneurship. He read extensively about people…