The financing will go to TBC Bank Uzbekistan, the largest mobile-only bank in Central Asia’s most populous country, and will expand loans to women and women-led businesses.
The Global Gender-Smart Fund (GGSF) has committed $10m (€9.4m) to TBC Bank Uzbekistan to boost financial inclusion by expanding loans to women and women-led businesses.
Luxembourg-based GGSF, the world’s largest gender-lens investment fund, aims to close the $1.7trn gender gap by facilitating access to financial services to underserved women, women-owned, and women-led businesses in developing markets.
The funding for TBC Bank Uzbekistan will come from GGSF via one of its portfolio managers, Triple Jump, a Dutch impact-focused investment manager dedicated to creating positive change in emerging markets.
Jarri Jung, director of financial institutions at Triple Jump, said he was “thrilled” to team up with TBC Bank Uzbekistan to support its “important efforts to bring responsible and innovative digital banking to consumers in Uzbekistan, focusing on ensuring financial inclusion of women and women-led businesses in the country”.
The $10m financing from GGSF follows on from a $10m credit line from Swiss impact investor responsAbility Investments, after a previous allocation from the firm of $25m.
17 million users
Nika Kurdiani, CEO of TBC Group operations in Uzbekistan, said he was “delighted to secure new financing and bring on board another valued partner in Triple Jump as we continue to diversify our funding base and expand the range of products we offer”.
TBC Bank Uzbekistan, which forms part of London-listed TBC Bank Group, is one of the leading digital lenders in Central Asia. The bank, which made a profit two years after its launch, has 17 million unique registered users.
