Alif's revenue has increased 10 times over the past two years, plans for the next two years is to grow by the same amount.
The young company operates as a commercial bank in Tajikistan and as a payment system in Uzbekistan.
“Alif, a digital banking challenger, founded in Tajikistan in 2014, received a company valuation of over $100 million, raising $8 million in equity and $50 million in debt” writes the specialized international publication Fintech Finance.
The investment has been raised from the current shareholder of Alif — the British investment company Jefferson Capital Holdings Limited, the founder of which is originally from Tajikistan, Mr. Khofiz Shakhidi.
The funds will be used for Alif's activities in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Russia, as well as to support expansion into global markets.
“Our goal is to grow 10 times more”
In early May of this year, the CEO of Alif Bank, Abdullo Kurbanov, said in an interview with Asia-Plus, that negotiations are underway to raise capital “financing in the development of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, mainly to attract new clients and create an attractive financial and technological ecosystem.
Abdullo Kurbanov and Zuhursho Rahmatulloev, Alif's co-founders
He noted that Alif is building the most technologically neobank in Central Asia to become a successful buy now pay later installment system player and a leader in the retail banking sector.
Kurbanov pointed that Alif's client base has increased 10 times over the past 2 years. "Our goal is to grow another 10 times over the next 2 years" he added.
Alif has been working in the financial intermediation market of Tajikistan since 2014: until the beginning of 2020, first, as a microcredit organization Alif Capital, then, as a full-fledged commercial bank.
Alif has transformed into an ecosystem of technological and financial solutions for its clients. Alif is a market leader in POS financing through installment-based club-card, commission-free overdrafts, the largest online B2C platform (alif.shop), the most widely used mobile wallet (alif.mobi) in the country, and exclusive integration with the largest classifieds website.
Alif's division operates in neighboring Uzbekistan and is a resident in the Tashkent Technopark.
The main shareholders of Alif are the investment company Jefferson Capital Holdings Limited, as well as the founders — Abdullo Kurbanov, Firdavs Mirzoev and Zuhursho Rakhmatulloev. The rest of the shareholders are individuals, most of whom are the company's employees.