Participants of the panel discussion ‘Building for the Long Game: TBC Uzbekistan x BILLZ Exit Case’ talked about how the integration of BILLZ into the TBC Uzbekistan ecosystem changes the rules of the game for fintech and the startup market, what the deal participants, investors and IT Park think about it, and what this news says about the maturity of the Uzbek startup scene in general. The conversation was moderated by Azizbek Kurbanov, entrepreneur and CEO of AK Capital Consultancy Firm.

 

Interesting thoughts from the speakers

 

Nika Kurdiani, CEO of TBC Uzbekistan:

 

In BILLZ we have found a team with which to build a strong ecosystem for SMEs in Uzbekistan. Our ambition is to support every third SME in the country. BILLZ gives us direct access to customers, allows us to create value and build sustainable relationships. Through this trust we can offer banking, business loans and so on. Of course, we develop banking products in parallel, but our idea is to scale them together.

 

Rustam Khamdamov, CEO and co-founder of BILLZ:

 

Exit was never a goal for us - from the very beginning we wanted to create something meaningful, useful and scalable. But at some point it became clear: to really grow, we needed to add a financial element to the product. We already generate a lot of data, we have thousands of active customers, but to go to the next level, we needed a banking licence. And in this context, the deal with TBC was an absolutely logical step: they already have experience, a great team and strong banking products, as well as ambitious goals and a mature approach to management.

 

Elyor Maksudov, Director of Startup and Investment Development, IT Park:

 

This is not just another deal involving a well-known company. This is the first major deal with Exit, which demonstrates the maturity and real progress of Uzbekistan's startup industry. Such stories are a strong signal for the whole world: our region is developing, becoming a point of growth and interest for international investors and technology players.

 

Alijon Ravshanov, Partner at venture capital firm Sturgeon Capital:

 

This deal was the first vivid example of a B2B startup exit in Uzbekistan - not just selling a product, but transferring a mature technological solution to a large financial institution. And this is a positive signal for the whole ecosystem: startups that work in the B2B segment and build infrastructure for SMEs now see that they too have real exit scenarios. This means that strategic deals are not just for fintech or superapps, it is the way forward for those building platforms, products and analytics too.