Expat Business & SME Exchange

Expat Business & SME Exchange At Expat Connect, you don’t simply attend an event you join a carefully curated community of founders, professionals, investors, and business leaders shaping the future of Central Asia. Each session combines meaningful networking with practical conversations led by experienced entrepreneurs and industry experts. Our focus is simple: connect ambitious people, exchange ideas, and leave with insights and relationships that create long-term value. ​​​​Why Attend? ​​​​Featured Speakers11:15 AM — Shakhruz (Ashot) Ashirov Your AI Coworker That Works 24/7 Shakhruz (Ashot) Ashirov is Chief AI Officer at MILA GPT, a software engineer, entrepreneur, educator, and AI product creator with decades of experience in technology. He is the founder of MILA GPT, an AI platform designed to turn artificial intelligence from a simple tool into a practical digital coworker. His session will show how AI employees can remember your business, communicate with customers, use business tools, complete routine tasks, and work alongside other AI agents while keeping humans in control. He will cover: Building a Brand That Lasts Abdulrahman Waleed Sawalha is a marketing and sales leader with over 15 years of experience across the GCC and Middle East. He worked with Nikon and Fuji in Dubai before becoming Area Sales and Marketing Manager for Carl Zeiss, Tokina, NiSi Filters, and Hasselblad. At Carl Zeiss, he grew regional revenue from AED 300,000 to AED 2.25 million and expanded the brand from 2 to 13 showrooms across the region in six years. Today, he is the Founder and Director of Art One Studio in Tashkent, where he built a photography business from the ground up and is expanding into art and photography education. He will cover: