TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 10. The
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the
European Union and Uzbekistan’s Hamkorbank have launched a
programme to boost rural entrepreneurship and expand financial
inclusion, Trend
reports via EU.
The initiative will support nearly 4,000 remittance-receiving
households and returning migrants by introducing a credit scoring
model that recognizes remittances and savings as proof of repayment
capacity, helping rural residents gain access to bank
financing.
The project is being tested within the Central Bank of
Uzbekistan’s regulatory sandbox and is co-financed by the European
Union under the REMIT PRIME Central Asia Programme.
“Recognizing remittances as a reliable source of income to prove
creditworthiness can be transformational for rural families,” said
Pedro de Vasconcelos, Manager of IFAD’s Financing Facility for
Remittances.
Hamkorbank, which serves about 900,000 remittance recipients,
will implement the programme nationwide, with a focus on rural
areas.
Meanwhile, in Uzbekistan, remittances remain a vital lifeline
for many families, totalling $14.8 billion in 2024, representing
well over 10% of the country’s GDP. Yet rural communities and
returnees face structural barriers to credit and business support,
often leading to informal employment or re-migration. Uzbek REMIT
aims to reverse this trend in line with Uzbekistan’s National
Development Strategy 2030, which prioritizes the economic
reintegration of returnees.