The microfinance market in Uzbekistan grew nearly 1.8 times in the first nine months of 2025

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — According to data from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan (CBU), the total volume of microfinance services provided in the first nine months of 2025 reached 104 trillion soums, increasing almost 1.8 times compared with the same period in 2024.

The share of microfinance in overall lending rose to 34.2 percent, seven percentage points higher year-on-year.

The microfinance market includes microloans, microcredits and other services provided by banks, microfinance organizations (MFOs) and pawnshops.

Although the banking sector continues to dominate, controlling 79.5 percent of the market, the fastest growth is observed among private-sector players.

Private banks doubled the volume of microfinance services they provided, reaching 57 trillion soums and accounting for 69 percent of total banking microfinance.

Banks with state participation increased microfinance issuance by 40 percent to 25.7 trillion soums. TBC Bank recorded especially dynamic growth: its microfinance portfolio expanded 2.6 times, rising by 19 trillion soums.

Banks continued to actively develop the microfinance segment. Total microloan issuance amounted to 68.1 trillion soums, with state-owned banks providing 18.7 trillion soums (27 percent of the market) and private banks 49.4 trillion soums (73 percent).

Annual growth in microloans reached 7.0 trillion soums for state-owned banks, a 60 percent increase, while private banks expanded their microloan portfolio by 25.5 trillion soums, more than doubling the previous year’s figure.

Microcredit issuance totaled 14.6 trillion soums. State-owned banks accounted for 7.0 trillion soums (48 percent), while private banks provided 7.6 trillion soums (52 percent).

Growth in microcredits also shows strong private-sector activity. State-owned banks increased microcredit issuance by 415 billion soums, or 6 percent, whereas private banks added 3.0 trillion soums, a 67 percent increase.

Microfinance organizations also strengthened their market position, increasing their share from 15.7 percent to 18.5 percent. Among MFOs, total services reached 19 trillion soums, with 73 percent concentrated among the three largest players: Tezkoin with 9.5 trillion soums (50 percent), Shaffof Moliya with 3.4 trillion soums (18 percent) and Fortuna Business with 988 billion soums (5 percent).

Pawnshops issued a total of 2 trillion soums in loans in 2025. The largest provider was Oltin, accounting for 202 billion soums, or 10 percent of the segment.

Microloans of up to 100 million soums remain the main driver of growth. Their volume doubled to 83 trillion soums and accounted for 80 percent of the entire microfinance market.

Microcredits of up to 300 million soums increased by only 40 percent, reaching 21 trillion soums, indicating strong demand from households and small businesses for small-scale financing.

The share of microloans issued by banks in the overall microfinance market rose by six percentage points to 82 percent compared with the same period last year. The share of microloans issued by microfinance organizations increased by ten percentage points, reaching 67 percent.

Regional disparities in the market remain significant. Tashkent accounts for 64 percent of all microfinance services, with the volume there growing 2.3 times to 66.2 trillion soums. Other regions demonstrated more moderate growth: Kashkadarya by 44 percent and Khorezm by 54 percent, underscoring a structural imbalance and the concentration of capital in the capital.

The market remains highly stable in terms of currency composition. Domestic-currency operations account for 99.5 percent of all services, while the share of foreign-currency lending declined by 49 percent to 500 billion soums.

By maturity, short-term microfinance services reached 22.9 trillion soums in 2025, rising by 12.1 trillion soums (2.1 times) and accounting for 22 percent of the total, a three-percentage-point increase. Long-term loans reached 81.1 trillion soums, increasing by 34.5 trillion soums (74 percent) and accounting for 78 percent of the market, down three percentage points.

In the short-term segment, banks provided 5.5 trillion soums (24 percent), while MFOs and pawnshops accounted for 17.4 trillion soums (76 percent).

Long-term lending is dominated by banks, which issued 77.2 trillion soums (95 percent), while MFOs and pawnshops provided only 3.9 trillion soums (5 percent).

This structure indicates that banks remain primarily focused on long-term products, whereas MFOs and pawnshops concentrate on short-term lending.