OPEC Fund extends $35mn loan to Uzbekistan’s Asaka Bank
The OPEC Fund for Worldwide Improvement is extending a $35 million mortgage to Uzbekistan’s State Joint-Inventory Firm Asaka Financial institution to strengthen meals safety and help the growth of local weather motion tasks within the nation.
Based on the press launch, the funding will assist improve entry to finance for agriculture and strengthen the financial institution’s local weather finance portfolio.
OPEC Fund President Abdulhamid Alkhalifa mentioned that, “Our partnership with Asaka Financial institution helps two essential priorities for Uzbekistan – making certain meals safety and addressing local weather change. Agriculture stays a cornerstone of the nation’s financial system and focused investments in sustainable practices will assist smallholder farmers construct resilience and enhance productiveness. The brand new financing displays our dedication to fostering financial progress whereas driving local weather motion.”
Agriculture is a key driver of Uzbekistan’s financial system, accounting for 25 % of the nation’s GDP and in addition using a few quarter of the workforce. Because the sector faces challenges comparable to excessive climate occasions, water shortage, and restricted entry to finance, strengthening monetary help for small-scale farmers can create far-reaching advantages.
Asaka Financial institution will on-lend the OPEC Fund’s mortgage to small and medium-sized enterprises and agribusinesses, enabling them to entry important financing for progress. This may assist farmers and rural enterprises safe vital providers, undertake fashionable expertise, and increase market entry – strengthening productiveness and resilience throughout the sector.
Asaka Financial institution is Uzbekistan’s fourth-largest business financial institution by property and gross loans. The financial institution performs a key position in financing financial improvement and is majority state-owned. The OPEC Fund companions with Asaka Financial institution via its risk-sharing program with worldwide monetary establishments.
The OPEC Fund has been a longstanding accomplice of Uzbekistan for 25 years, supporting practically 30 private and non-private sector tasks with a complete mortgage quantity of $800 million to this point. A Nation Partnership Framework signed in 2024 earmarks $500 million in new OPEC Fund financing to advance Uzbekistan’s sustainable improvement agenda till 2029.
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