Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Finance in Uzbekistan: Challenges and Opportunities

Figure 10: 
Financial Depth − Comparison 2016 
Source: IMF Financial Access Survey 2017. 
Small business loans and microcredits as a percentage of GDP slightly declined from 
8.0% to 7.9% and from 1.7% to 1.6%, respectively. The decline was related to the 
reduction of shares of the loans for small business and microcredits in total bank loans. 
The share of small businesses in the loan portfolio is growing due to a decline in the 
corporate segment and currently accounts for 18% (see Figure 11). The share of small 
businesses in the loan portfolio is growing due to a decline in the corporate segment and 
currently accounts for 18%.
14
Development Strategy Framework of the Republic of Uzbekistan by 2035. 
15
IMF Financial Access Survey 2017. See: http://data.imf.org/?sk=E5DCAB7E-A5CA-4892-A6EA-
598B5463A34C&sId=1460043522778 

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ADBI Working Paper 997 
D. Tadjibaeva 
10 
The shares of small business loans and microcredits in total bank lending declined
in 2017 from 30.2% to 17.7% and from 6.3% to 3.6%, respectively. See Table 2. The 
decrease was related to a sharp increase in the sum value of loans to large state 
companies because of revaluation, and the callback of loan applications by small 
businesses after the sum devaluation in September 2017, due to their business plans 
having been based on half the FX rate. 
Figure 11: SME Finance 
Source: Central Bank of Uzbekistan. 
Table 2: SME Bank Lending Portfolio 
 
2012 
2013 
2014 
2015 
2016 
2017 
Total bank loans, SUM billion
18,601 
25,562 
32,161 
39,718 
52,611 
110,572 
Loans for small business, SUM billion
5,346 
6,982 
9,158 
12,113 
15,870 
19,565 
Microcredits, SUM billion 
1,023 
1,366 
1,907 
2,527 
3,326 
4,015 
Loans for women, SUM billion
492 
698 
960 
1,255 
1,647 
2,782 
Loans for small business (% of total loans)
28.7% 
27.3% 
28.5% 
30.5% 
30.2% 
17.7% 
Microcredits (% of total loans)
5.5% 
5.3% 
5.9% 
6.4% 
6.3% 
3.6% 
Source: Central Bank of Uzbekistan. 
Despite total loan portfolios soaring between 2016 and 2017 by more than double, the 
increase in the amount of loans for small business and microcredits for that period was 
less than moderate. Microcredits constitute a significant portion of loans (about 20%), 
which evidences the impossibility of receiving traditional bank loans. 
The hike in the growth rates of small business loans and microcredits was in 2014 at 
39.6% and 31.2%, respectively. Then the growth rates plummeted and fell to the levels 
of 20.7% and 23.3% in 2017 due to the large state banks’ increased corporate lending 
portfolios over that period (see Table 3).