EXPANDING BANK CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES FOR FAMILY-OWNED ENTERPRISES IN UZBEKISTAN

Family entrepreneurship plays an important role in Uzbekistan’s socio-economic development by contributingto employment creation, poverty reduction, and regional economic stability. Family-owned micro and small enterprisesoperate in sectors such as agriculture, handicrafts, trade, services, and small-scale manufacturing, providing incomeopportunities and supporting local economic activity. Despite government programs and preferential lending initiativesaimed at supporting entrepreneurship, limited access to affordable financial resources remains a major constraint for thesustainable development of family businesses.Several structural barriers restrict access to bank financing, including insufficient collateral, limited financial literacy, weakaccounting transparency, and relatively high interest rates. In addition, rural enterprises face geographic and informationalchallenges that reduce their access to formal financial services. Although the overall volume of loans to small businesseshas increased, the share of long-term investment financing remains limited, and lending practices in the banking sectorstill rely heavily on collateral-based assessment.To improve access to bank credit, it is necessary to expand credit guarantee mechanisms, introduce risk-based lendingmodels, support concessional financing programs, promote digital financial services, and strengthen the financialcapacity of entrepreneurs. Improving financial inclusion and developing more flexible lending mechanisms will allowfamily entrepreneurship to realize its full potential as an important driver of sustainable economic growth in Uzbekistan