Uzbekistan-based digital services ecosystem Uzum has announced that it raised USD 114 million in funding, securing its unicorn status with a post-money valuation of over USD 1 billion. As per the information detailed in the press release, Uzum received the funds through a combination of a Series A funding round debt financing.

At the time of the announcement, the firm was the first tech company to achieve unicorn status, having a post-money valuation of more than USD 1 billion. Uzum intends to leverage the funds to advance Uzbekistan’s IT and logistics infrastructure, while also funding its own Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service. Uzum’s development strategy Within the Series A funding round consisting of primary investments, Uzum received USD 52 million in equity, with the round being led by FinSight Ventures, whose current portfolio includes Intercom, ThoughtSpot, Automation Anywhere, Toss, GupShup, Razorpay, Bumble, Rappi, and Carta, among others.

The global venture capital firm was joined by Xanara Investment Management, a multifamily office based in the UAE, as well as Uzum’s management team. In addition to this, Uzum raised USD 62 million in debt financing. The press release mentions that investors who took part in the Series A funding round are set to receive stakes of nearly 5% in the company, while shareholders decided to not dilute their ownership stakes during the round.

Throughout 2024, Uzum aims to raise additional financing of USD 200 million in a Series B funding round from investors located in the Middle East, the UK, and the US. By merging ecommerce, fintech, and banking services for individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Uzum’s digital ecosystem provides a marketplace, an express delivery service, traditional and digital banks, a BNPL service, an automotive marketplace, and an app for entrepreneurs. Currently, the company is integrating all of the ecosystem’s components into two super apps, including Uzum for individuals, and Uzum Business for legal entities. Additionally, Uzum’s development strategy for 2024 includes the launch of one of the largest logistics complexes for ecommerce in Uzbekistan, which is projected to expand ecommerce turnover on its platform by more than 150% during the year.

The company also intends to introduce several ecosystem products for unsecured lending to individuals and SMEs. According to Uzum’s officials, considering the current growth rate of digital services in Uzbekistan, the company aims to increase its net profit partly by integrating services within its ecosystem. Uzum also intends to include additional business streams and services for business and private customers in the ecosystem. Representatives from FinSight Ventures underlined that, by merging convenient payment solutions with an ecommerce platform, Uzum achieved substantial results, with the company launching a significantly popular app in the country in terms of the number of downloads.

Uzum’s capabilities in fintech and ecommerce can be attributed to its network effects and synergies between its various businesses. As Uzbekistan is a market where consumers transfer directly from offline to mobile, bypassing the web browser stage, the region is suitable for developing a super app that merges banking, fintech, ecommerce, and other services in an ecosystem for consumers and entrepreneurs. .