The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has agreed to loan up to $50 million to Hamkorbank to help small businesses and women entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan get better access to financing. Thirty-five percent of the money will go specifically to women-owned businesses, tackling a problem where only 19 percent of small companies in the country currently use bank credit.
Getting a business loan in Uzbekistan remains tough for most entrepreneurs, even though the government has been working to improve access to capital. The World Bank’s 2024 survey shows that most small business owners still can’t get the financing they need to expand, which holds back job creation and economic growth.
The money comes through IFC’s program for micro, small and medium enterprises, which lends to banks that serve smaller businesses. Hamkorbank’s chairman, Bakhtiyorjon Juraev, said these enterprises “are the backbone of the economy, driving job creation and innovation” but getting finance is still their biggest challenge. IFC’s Alain Nounke said the deal shows their commitment to strengthening Uzbekistan’s banking sector, especially support for women business owners who help drive economic progress.
IFC has been working with Hamkorbank since 2001, when it became the bank’s first international investor, and later its first foreign shareholder in 2010. Over more than 20 years, IFC has put over $125 million into the partnership through loans, equity investments and trade finance, while helping the bank improve how it manages risks and lends to agricultural businesses.
