Business Leasing Uzbekistan

Business Leasing Uzbekistan (BLU) was established in May 2004 as a joint venture between Business Bank (Uzbekistan) and the Central Asia Small Enterprise Fund (CASEF). Business Leasing provides lease finance to local entrepreneurs and enterprises in Uzbekistan. In 2005 CASEF bought out Business Bank's holding in Business Leasing, becoming its sole shareholder. The bulk of BLU's micro-leasing activities is in auto and equipment leasing.

SIFEM provided a USD 1.0 million loan to BLU in 2007, which is expected to play a crucial role in enabling the company to remain independent and grow within its captive market, as well as making it more attractive to commercial financing in the future.