Central Asian Microfinance Summit in Samarkand

On September 19-20, Archil Bakuradze, Chair of the MFC Council and Pavol Kapsdorfer, MFC Network and Partnership Manager, represented the Microfinance Centre at the third Central Asian Microfinance Summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

The event, themed “Unlimited Support for Small Businesses, Return to the Roots” brought together over 230 participants, including Central Asian central banks, financial institutions, associations, microfinance organizations, fintech companies, and investors.

As one of the co-organizers, MFC was honored to deliver a keynote speech and moderate three sessions during the summit. One session focused on the role of regulatory and supervisory bodies in developing the microfinance sectors across Central Asia. It brought together representatives from the central banks of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, along with the Agency for Regulation and Development from Kazakhstan.

MFC also continued the important dialogue started at last year’s Central Asian summit, followed by a roundtable at this year’s MFC Annual Conference in Cracow. The roundtable in Samarkand showed strong interest from central banks in holding more such meetings and the need for future exchanges.

In the final session, which MFC moderated, we discussed the latest trends and risks in consumer protection. The Central Bank of Uzbekistan highlighted the importance of microfinance institutions adopting standards to safeguard clients’ rights, especially with the growing digital services offered by microfinance organizations. This need for stronger client protection was also supported by a representative from MFR, who pointed out the rising demand for certification and ratings in Central Asia.

The summit was an excellent platform for exchanging insights on the latest trends in microfinance across Central Asia and globally.

We’d like to extend a special thank you to the Central Asian Microfinance Alliance, particularly the National Association of Microfinance Institutions of Uzbekistan, for inviting us to contribute to such a successful event.