How to Turn Screen Time into Real-Life Rewards: UCA Alumnus Builds Safini, a Family App

How can parents help children develop healthier screen habits without turning every limit into an argument? For University of Central Asia (UCA) alumnus Ilkhom Sidikov, the answer is to make time away from screens more rewarding.

A 2025 graduate of UCA’s School of Arts and Sciences with a degree in Computer Science, Ilkhom is the Founder and CEO of Safini, a family app that connects children’s everyday activities with the screen time they earn.

Safini helps parents manage screen time by encouraging children to complete everyday tasks, such as reading, studying, exercising and helping around the house, in exchange for additional screen time. This helps families create healthier routines in a simple and positive way.

Ilkhom’s journey into technology began in Osh, where he grew up in a family that supported his curiosity. With a computer at home, he started exploring software at an early age. While still in primary school, he even helped his teachers prepare presentations.

From Programming Competitions to Building a Startup

Ilkhom continued to develop his skills at UCA through the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC). He reached the semifinals three times and joined Kyrgyzstan’s team for the Eurasian round.

In 2023, he became the first UCA student to secure an internship at Yandex. As a Software Engineer Intern with the online payments team in Moscow, he gained experience developing software for large-scale systems.

After graduating, Ilkhom worked at io.net⁠, an AI infrastructure company that provides computing resources for artificial intelligence applications. These experiences helped him build the software and product development skills he later brought to Safini.

Making Screen Time More Meaningful

Safini was created to help parents manage screen time while encouraging children to take part in other activities.

The app supports English, Russian, Kyrgyz and Kazakh. It launched on the App Store and Google Play on 20 October 2026. Before the launch, around 30 families across Central Asia tested the app and shared feedback with the team.

The team is also developing Fini, an AI assistant that will help parents manage screen time according to their family’s goals. It can support families that want to reduce gaming and scrolling or encourage more educational activities.

Growing a Venture with the UCA Community

Building Safini has become a team effort involving members of the UCA community. Ilkhom leads the venture as Founder and CEO. His co-founder, Ramil Salihar, is also a UCA Class of 2025 Computer Science graduate and leads product and mobile development from Bishkek. Islam Momukeev, UCA Computer Science student, supports marketing, content and creative work from UCA’s Naryn Campus.

Other UCA students have joined the team as interns. They are gaining practical experience in product development and learning what it is like to work at an early-stage startup.

Safini has also received recognition in the regional startup community. The team won the Most Scalable Solution award at Build Global in Osh and secured a place in UniCorner IRA, a programme by Accelerate Prosperity in Bishkek.

For Ilkhom, Safini combines his software engineering experience with a challenge faced by many families. It also gives UCA students and graduates the opportunity to build a technology product together.