Dairy products consumers across Uzbekistan will enjoy a greater variety of cheeses by a popular local producer Tillo Domor following its expansion supported by the EBRD and Hamkorbank.

In a joint transaction Hamkorbank is providing a six-year loan of up to €0.54 million loan to Tillo Domor, while 65 per cent of the risk on the loan will be shared by the EBRD under a Risk Sharing Facility signed between the financial institutions. Further financing of the company by the EBRD and Hamkorbank to reach €2 million in the total exposure is expected in early 2020.

The loan is supported by the EBRD’s Finance and Technology Transfer Centre for Climate Change (FINTECC) programme financed by the Global Environmental Facility Trust Fund with a grant of US$106,200, which will cover energy efficiency measures designed to cut the annual consumption of water by 6,500 м3 and reduce annual CO2 emissions by 368 tonnes though natural gas savings. FINTECC is designed to transfer technology in the area of climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The Urgench (western Uzbekistan) based producer is a well-established operation since 2009. Its products are very appealing for the population of Uzbekistan because of its geographical origin firmly associated with the ancient state of Khorezm, one the world’s most ancient civilisations.

Also despite its small size, around 1.4 per cent of the country’s total area, the Khorezm region, where Urgench is the largest municipality, is responsible for the production of nearly 1 million tonnes of milk or around 10 per cent of the national output.

The drive is supported by the EBRD through its agribusiness and SME development strategies, and included advisory interventions financed by European Union as well as by the Small Business Impact Fund (whose donors are: Italy, Japan, South Korea, Luxemburg, Sweden, Switzerland, Taipei China and the USA).