Uzum Reports 50% Net Income Growth in H1 2024 and Plans Series B Funding Round
Uzum, a leading digital services ecosystem in Uzbekistan, has announced its performance highlights for the six months ending June 30, 2024.
Key Operating and Financial Highlights:
- Marketplace GMV surged fourfold year-on-year.
- Uzum’s fintech loan portfolio more than doubled.
- Approximately one-third of Uzbekistan’s residents now use Uzum services.
- Uzum is preparing for a Series B funding round, anticipated in Q4 2024 or Q1 2025, aiming to raise up to $300 million. The funds will support the expansion of its BNPL business, online lending products, and e-commerce verticals.
The Uzum ecosystem demonstrated robust growth in the first half of 2024, with consolidated net income rising by 50% year-on-year, driven by the rapid expansion of its e-commerce and fintech services. The ecosystem’s active user base nearly doubled compared to the previous year, reaching 10.6 million monthly users, which constitutes around 30% of Uzbekistan’s population.
Nikolay Seleznev, Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer at Uzum, remarked:
“We are thrilled with Uzum’s strong performance in the first half of this year and appreciate the support of our investors, partners, and customers. As we look ahead to the second half of 2024, we will focus on launching the Uzum Bank card and expanding our online lending and deposit services. We are also gearing up for a significant funding round to accelerate growth in Uzbekistan’s promising market and are targeting major international funds, which will be crucial for a potential future listing on an international stock exchange.”
E-Commerce:
Uzum’s e-commerce division achieved a nearly fourfold increase in GMV, with Uzum Market solidifying its position as the leading e-commerce platform in the country. The marketplace’s GMV grew 3.5 times year-on-year, and the number of orders processed in H1 2024 more than tripled to over 8 million. The platform now hosts more than 10,000 sellers. The Company plans to launch the first phase of a major warehousing complex (77,000 sqm) by the end of the year to support further expansion.
Uzum Tezkor, the online food delivery service, has become a major contributor to the e-commerce segment, covering the eight largest cities in Uzbekistan. Within just over a year, Uzum Tezkor has become the largest domestic delivery service by geographic reach, with 1,690 restaurants on its platform by the end of the period.
Fintech:
Uzum continued to enhance its fintech offerings, including the digital Uzum Bank and Uzum Nasiya installment payment service. The Bank recently introduced pre-order branded Visa virtual cards with attractive terms for Uzbek consumers and plans to expand its online lending products over the next 12-18 months, transitioning into a full-service neobank.
Uzum Nasiya saw a 2.5-fold increase in total financed value year-on-year, with its loan portfolio more than doubling. By the end of Q2 2024, 2.8 million users had approved limits, reflecting a 27% increase from Q1 2024. The service also showed strong integration with Uzum Market, with over 55% of orders paid using Nasiya’s BNPL solution.
In spring 2024, Uzum achieved a valuation of over $1 billion, becoming Uzbekistan’s first tech unicorn and placing the country among the most dynamic markets for e-commerce and fintech. The Company continues to build the technological infrastructure needed to digitize Uzbekistan’s economy and aims to maintain its growth trajectory through the development of physical and IT infrastructure and seamless integration across the Uzum ecosystem.
About Uzum:
Uzum is a comprehensive digital ecosystem and the largest digital platform in Uzbekistan, offering services in e-commerce, express delivery, banking, fintech, and business development. Over 10 million people in Uzbekistan—nearly one-third of the population—use Uzum’s services each month.
