Alif Uzbekistan Moves Towards Banking Licence to Support SMEs

Fintech company Alif Uzbekistan is preparing to apply for a banking licence, with the necessary documents to be submitted soon to the Central Bank, the firm told Kursiv Uzbekistan.

The board of directors of UK-registered Alif Capital Holdings Limited has approved the creation of a new banking entity in Uzbekistan. The aim is to broaden financial services and provide greater support for small and medium-sized enterprises. Alif Uzbekistan also confirmed that it has already secured major investment and is actively working on launching the new bank.

Founded in Tajikistan in 2014, Alif entered the Uzbek market in 2019. Its first project in the country was the online marketplace Alif Shop, followed by the payment service alif.mobi and an electronic money system.

Kursiv Uzbekistan also reports that the company attracted $3 mln in investment from the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group.