EBRD, IFC allocate additional investment worth $7 million to TBC UZ bank

TBC UZ received another $35.1 million in capital investments from its shareholders, Spot reported referring to the EBRD press service.

The main part of the amount - $21.1 million - was provided by the Georgian TBC Bank Group to its subsidiary. The EBRD allocated $7 million for the digital bank, and the International Finance Corporation invested the same amount in it.

The additional investment is part of a multi-year co-financing plan for TBC UZ. The quadripartite investment agreement was signed in September 2021, when the EBRD and the IFC acquired 20% of the shares of the digital bank for $9.4 million each.

At the moment, the total investment in TBC UZ under the agreement is $79.8 million. Two more rounds of additional capitalization are planned in 2023 and 2024.

The bank has shown significant growth rates since the start of commercial activity in Uzbekistan. In less than two years, the TBC UZ mobile application, powered by the Space fintech platform, was downloaded by 2.4 million people.

Investors expect that expansion of the bank’s capitalization will contribute to its further growth and promotion of international corporate governance standards. It is also intended to support strengthening of the digital financial services market.

“We very much hope that these investments will contribute not only to the development of TBC Bank Uzbekistan, but to the digitalization of the country as a whole,” Spartak Tetrashvili, head of TBC UZ, commented. 

According to him, the experience of the Georgian bank has become evidence of an increase in the investment attractiveness of Uzbekistan. The new investment will help the institution improve customer service as well as provide them with innovative services.

As the EBRD head in Uzbekistan, Alkis Drakinos, noted, TBC UZ, despite its “short history”, has achieved a wide coverage of retail clients. Due to new investments, it will be able to expand the range of services for small businesses.