Uzbekistan Announces New Measures to Support Businesses
Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced new business support measures during an open dialogue with entrepreneurs in the Khorezm region on 18 August 2026, including multi-stage growth programs and a credit counter-guarantee mechanism, according to the presidential press service.
The head of state noted that small business accounts for 63% of the banking sector's loan portfolio, up from 45% previously, with 76.5 trillion soums allocated to small and medium-sized enterprises in the first half of the year. A single digital credit portal has been launched to allow businesses to submit one application and receive competing offers from banks, alongside online loan processing up to 5 billion soums for starting entrepreneurs.
To support companies at different growth stages, Uzbekistan is introducing a unified business ecosystem consisting of three structured programs: "Business-Start" for beginners, "Business-Lift" for established producers, and "Business-Yuksalish" for enterprises scaling operations. Under the 100 billion soum "Business-Start" program, participants will receive artificial intelligence-assisted training in project preparation, credit documentation, and accounting, alongside access to ready-made business plans and unsecured loans up to 200 million soums.
To address collateral constraints, a counter-guarantee mechanism will be introduced to account for the real value of a business during credit evaluations. For loans up to 10 billion soums, the state will cover 30% of collateral requirements, the Business Guarantee Company will cover 30%, and commercial banks will cover 15%, leaving entrepreneurs to provide 25% of the collateral.
An artificial intelligence-powered portal named "Virtual Tax Consultant" (Soliq AI) has also begun operations to help businesses reduce operational costs and reporting errors. Similar AI assistants are scheduled for deployment across construction, labor relations, foreign trade, and public services starting in 2027.
President Mirziyoyev outlined additional logistics and foreign trade measures, including plans to launch a 500,000-ton capacity logistics center at the Georgian port of Poti in 2027 and initiate operations at Anaklia port. Furthermore, the government plans to eliminate customs duties and recycling fees on imported trucks while setting a zero VAT rate on railway cars provided for international transport.
