Mr. Bokhodir Ayupov is a Consultant at the Technopark of Software Development and IT, a new institution set up by the Decree of the President of Uzbekistan with the goal of supporting the development of the startup ecosystem in the country. Previously, he served as a Deputy Director at the Mirzo Ulugbek Innovation Center, another institution established by the Decree of the President to facilitate the development of the IT sector in Uzbekistan, and as a Project Manager at the Asian Development Bank’s Technical Assistance Project, “E-government for Effective Public Management.” From 2008-2014 Mr. Ayupov spent seven years at UNDP Uzbekistan managing projects on E-government, Parliamentary Development and Social Innovations. He started his career at the Westminster International University in Tashkent as aCourse Leader, where he set up and launched commercial training courses for corporate clients. Mr. Ayupov is a professional trainer in the areas of Project Management, Design Thinking, Communications and Presentation Skills. He is also an entrepreneur, owns a restaurant, an English kindergarten, a karaoke-bar and several escape rooms. Mr. Ayupov holds an MSc in Management from the Surrey European Management School, University of Surrey, UK (2004) and a BA in International Business from Tashkent State University of Economics (2002). He also holds a Postgraduate Certificate of Special Study in Teaching and Learning from the University of Westminster, UK (2008).