Khofiz Shakhidi, the owner of a logistics and terminal network in Western Europe and a financier with many years of experience in the UK, has invested in the equity capital of Alif Capital (Alif brand). Upon conclusion of the deal, Mr. Shakhidi became the owner of a 25% shareholding and will subsequently be appointed Chairman of the Board.
Khofiz Shakhidi said: “Within a short period of time since its inception, Alif Capital has managed to successfully implement a number of unique projects in Tajikistan, generating a rapid growth rate for the company. Furthermore, the company has made a generous contribution to nurturing and developing young professionals. I am very pleased with our arrangement and honored to have this opportunity to further contribute to the improvement of my homeland’s financial sector.
Abdullo Kurbanov, head of Alif, said: “This investment will be channeled into our efforts to reach the company’s goals, including the development and improvement of digital products designed to expand the financial ecosystem for our customers and partners. We have already put in place alif.core, a unique automated banking system, which already receives some interest from foreign banks. Our alif.mobi mobile wallet for cashless payments and transfers is growing increasingly popular with residents of major cities of our country and is on its way to enter foreign markets. Khofiz Shakhidi, bringing a wealth of business experience as a shareholder and member of the supervisory board, will give an even greater impetus for our organization to pursue its strategic goals.
Mr. Shakhidi is an entrepreneur from Tajikistan who lives in Monaco. His father is the famed composer Tolibkhon Shakhidi. Mr. Shakhidi began his professional career in London’s banking sector. In 2000, he joined Crédit Agricole Indosuez, and in 2002, he became director of BSI Bank. He held executive positions at several financial institutions and in 2008, he set up a private investment portfolio, which focuses on various types of assets, from real property to over-the-counter transactions.
Mr. Shakhidi is director and co-founder of the financial firm Jefferson Capital Ltd. In 2014, he founded Belphar Ltd to acquire GTL Terminals Ltd (formerly Pan European Terminals Ltd). Since then, he has managed GTL’s logistics and terminal network
Founded in 2014 as a microcredit organization, Alif entered the market offering new products, which were unprecedented in Tajikistan.
The company introduced interest-free consumer loans, deposits based on income-sharing instead of fixed interest rates, launched alif.shop, Tajikistan's first online store enabling any visitor to buy products on instalment terms, and developed alif.mobi, a mobile wallet, which became the most popular Finance app in App Store and Google Play in Tajikistan.
This year, Alif has opened a subsidiary, Alif Tech, in Uzbekistan to work in POS-financing (payments based on installment plans) through a multifunctional online retail platform.
