Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is promoting green and inclusive lending in Uzbekistan by offering a financing package of up to US$ 20 million to the country’s leading private lender Ipoteka Bank controlled by OTP Group of Hungary. 

The package consists of two components.

A US$ 10 million loan under the EBRD’s Uzbekistan Green Economy Financing Facility II (GEFF Uzbekistan II) and will help improve access to green and climate-resilient technologies for local households and small and medium-sized enterprises. It is supported by a co-investment grant from the International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) via the Crisis Response Special Funds (CRSF) and technical cooperation funds from the Climate Investment Special Fund and Action for Equality and Gender Multi-Donor Cooperation Fund.

Another US$ 10 million loan for women entrepreneurs under the EBRD’s Central Asian Women in Business (WiB) programme. The loan is supported by grant funding from the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) and designed to help promote women’s entrepreneurship and business activity by assisting with access to finance, know-how and technical advice.

Uzbekistan is the leading recipient of the EBRD funding in Central Asia for the fourth year running. To date, the Bank has invested around €4.28 billion in 147 projects across the country, with most of those funds supporting private entrepreneurship.