TBC Bank Uzbekistan will use the proceeds to grow its lending business to historically underserved groups in Central Asia’s most populous country.
Netherlands-based impact investor Triple Jump has committed $12.5m (€10.9m) to TBC Bank Uzbekistan to support the country’s largest digital lender in its campaign to boost financial inclusion.
The capital will come from two separate Triple Jump-managed investment funds. The Global Gender-Smart Fund (GGSF), the world’s biggest gender-lens investment fund, will cover $5m of the financing. GSSF aims to address the funding gap for underserved women, women-owned, and women-led businesses in developing markets.
The remainder of the capital is being allocated from Triple Jump’s ASN Microkredietpool Fund. Both funds are committed to investing in firms that aim to grow access to responsible financial services in emerging markets for groups that need it the most, according to Triple Jump.
As previously reported by Impact Investor, at the end of last year GGSF made a $10m investment in TBC Bank in Uzbekistan, bringing Triple Jump’s total commitment to $22.5m.
In April, a fund managed by Swiss impact investor BlueOrchard made a $20m commitment in debt financing, taking its total investment to the mobile-only lender to $45m.
“We are pleased to be able to further strengthen our relationship with TBC Bank Uzbekistan and support their efforts to ensure digital financial services are available to all in the country. TBC is already driving meaningful progress in expanding financial access in Uzbekistan, and we hope this investment from two of our funds will help them make an even greater impact,” said Jarri Jung, director financial institutions at Triple Jump, an impact-focused investment manager dedicated to creating positive change in emerging markets.
20 million users
TBC Bank is part of TBC Uzbekistan, which runs a digital banking ecosystem in Central Asia and is part of London-listed TBC Bank Group.
“This agreement, which further extends our relationship with a valued partner in Triple Jump, comes as we continue to strategically diversify our funding base and expand the range of products we offer,” said Nika Kurdiani, CEO of TBC Uzbekistan.
Kurdiani went on to say the investment will help the bank grow its lending business to small and medium-sized firms, which is quickly becoming an important part of its future loan portfolio as it aims to drive economic growth in Uzbekistan.
