UnaFinancial & JSCB Microcreditbank to offer lending services in Uzbekistan

By Gloria Mathias

UnaFinancial, a Singapore-based FinTech group, has signed a partnership agreement with JSCB Microcreditbank (MKBANK), a commercial bank in Uzbekistan, to establish a microfinance organization in the country.

The joint company will provide instalment loans to micro-entrepreneurs with repayment terms of 3, 6 and 9 months. UnaFinancial will hold a 60% controlling interest.

The partnership will combine UnaFinancial’s expertise in developing FinTech solutions and Microcreditbank’s track record and strong position in the local market.

Headquartered in Singapore, UnaFinancial has been offering digital financial services across Asia and Europe since 2015. The group has already deployed similar solutions in other markets.

Almaz Torutayev, Regional Director for Central Asia, UnaFinancial, shared, “Step by step, we are fulfilling our expansion strategy in promising markets of Central Asia. We started our path in the region in 2015 with the launch of a lending service in Kazakhstan. Now, we are excited to enter Uzbekistan through our partnership with Microcreditbank. We are honoured to take this opportunity and become a part of this collaboration. Today, the microfinance sector in Uzbekistan is experiencing strong growth. Since 2018, the size of loan portfolios has nearly doubled, from 104 to 210. We hope that our new product will contribute to the development of the local market. We aim to make it convenient and accessible in all regions of the country, helping more customers get financing to develop their businesses.”

We are confident that by combining UnaFinancial’s proven track record with MKBANK’s local market knowledge, we can establish a formidable force in the microfinance landscape. We will provide comprehensive support to the new MFO, offering local expertise, branch infrastructure, and resources to ensure high-quality financial services for our clients,” shared Akmal Khamidov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, MKBANK.