TBC Bank is looking to expand its microlending business and enhance financial inclusion in Uzbekistan, the largest country by population in Central Asia.
The bank, a subsidiary of the London-listed TBC Group, operates through both physical and digital channels in Georgia and serves as a branchless digital bank in Uzbekistan. TBC Group entered Uzbekistan by acquiring a controlling stake in Payme in 2019 and launched the digital bank TBC UZ in October 2020 after obtaining a full banking license in May 2020. Payme is a digital payments application catering to individuals and small businesses, while Payme Nasiya (Payme Instalments) focuses on providing installment credit.
This new credit line follows an earlier $10 million credit line issued by responsAbility Investments AG’s Green Climate Partnership Fund (GCPF) to TBC Bank Uzbekistan in 2024, aimed at supporting environmentally sustainable projects.
TBC Bank Group has achieved an MSCI ESG rating of ‘AA’, the second highest on the scale, and received the EBRD’s Annual Sustainability Silver Award in 2023 for its environmental and social best practices. TBC Bank Uzbekistan was also assigned a Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of BB- by Fitch Ratings, aligning with the sovereign rating, which indicates the bank’s robust financial health and operational stability.
Nika Kurdiani, CEO of TBC Group operations in Uzbekistan, stated, "This credit line from responsAbility is a crucial part of our strategy to diversify our funding base, enabling us to support more individuals and their micro enterprises in their growth and prosperity. We are dedicated to promoting financial inclusion and economic development through innovative financial solutions as we expand our lending capabilities and product offerings, increasing access to modern financial services throughout Uzbekistan."
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