Accessibility of financial services for small and medium-sized businesses will increase

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed a presentation of proposals to expand financial support for small and medium-sized businesses and improve the availability of financial services, the press service of the head of our state reports.

Developing entrepreneurship, increasing the share of small and medium-sized businesses in the economy, and expanding their access to financial resources are among the key areas of reform in the New Uzbekistan.

In recent years, a number of programs have been implemented in this area, expanding mechanisms for providing loans, compensation, guarantees, and other types of financial support to entrepreneurs. However, it was noted that certain barriers to accessing financial services remain.

Currently, the loan portfolio allocated to small and medium-sized businesses amounts to 218 trillion soums, or 12 percent of the gross domestic product. However, the share of unsecured microloans issued online remains low. The process of issuing such microloans takes an average of seven days. Entrepreneurs cannot access offers from several banks in one place, compare them, and choose the most suitable terms.

In this regard, the presentation proposed launching a digital financial platform. Through the platform, entrepreneurs will be able to apply for a loan, receive commercial offers from several banks, compare them, and select the most convenient option.

The platform will be integrated with the digital databases of the Electronic Government system. Information about small and medium-sized businesses will be automatically transferred to banks. This will reduce the collection of documents, save time, and reduce the human factor in reviewing loan applications.

Starting December 1, 2026, the platform plans to introduce an alternative scoring model using elements of artificial intelligence.

While traditional scoring is primarily based on credit history, alternative scoring will take into account business activity, utility payments, turnover, tax, and other digital data. This will open the possibility of evaluating entrepreneurs without a credit history and expand their access to financial services.

In the future, artificial intelligence will be used to generate recommendations for improving an entrepreneur’s credit history, assessing potential risks, and developing their business.

Commercial banks are also expected to launch an “AI Consultant” program. It will facilitate the development of business ideas and identify financing options, taking into account the specialization of mahallas and their growth areas.

Additional incentives are also planned within the framework of the ongoing small business support program. For entrepreneurs who previously used a microloan under this program and have a positive credit history, the unsecured portion of the microloan will be increased from 100 million to 200 million soums.

Furthermore, regardless of the loan or lease amount, a portion of interest expenses will be reimbursed up to 5 billion soums.

Every year, 100 businesses that have expanded their operations and achieved high results will receive grants of up to 300 million soums for expenses related to digitalization, the implementation of international standards, and green technologies.

The head of state approved the proposals and instructed responsible officials to expand access to financial services for small and medium-sized businesses without a credit history, as well as to ensure platform security and data protection.