Development finance assessment

A JOB-RICH RECOVERY
• Harmonize the COVID-19 SME support measures with an upgraded SME 
finance policy framework.
BOOSTING PRIVATE 
SECTOR INVESTMENTS 
IN INFRASTRUCTURE
• Diversify available bond offerings: green bonds and sukuk.
• Develop innovative risk-sharing tools, such as credit guarantee schemes.
MAINSTREAM SDGs 
ACROSS INVESTMENT 
PROMOTION
• Mainstream the SDGs across the recently adopted PPP framework > People-
first SDGs
• Review the SDG alignment and coherence of the BITs and free trade 
agreements.
• Integrate sustainable development criteria across the Investment promotion 
agency.
• Set up a UN Global Compact Local Network 
HARNESSING NEW 
SOURCES OF PRIVATE 
FINANCE
• Establish or expand initiatives to leverage remittances and the diaspora.
• Explore the potential of philanthropy to fund SDG targets related to human 
development.
• 
Access untapped sources of faith-based finance: Zakat. 
Several cross-cutting institutional challenges limit strengthening Uzbekistan’s SDG 
financing architecture. There is a lack of strategic knowledge regarding the nature and scope 
of the financing requirements to achieve the national development vision and the SDGs and 
there is no systematic monitoring of development finance trends. Uzbekistan’s weak data 
ecosystem undermines monitoring the impact of different financing policies on the country’s 
development results. The pandemic and the fast pace of economic reforms has stretched 
institutional and administrative capacity, compounded by slow progress in developing 
effective internal and external accountability mechanisms. Combined, these knowledge 

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9
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
gaps and institutional limitations undermine a more coordinated and strategic approach to 
maximize the development impact of the country’s scarce development resources. 
The table below summarizes the DFA’s main recommendations for strengthening the 
enabling environment for SDG financing: