Champion Spotlight: Dilbar Abduganieva, Chief Financial Inclusion Officer at the Central Bank of Uzbekistan
Since joining the WE Finance Code on January 25, 2024, the Central Bank of Uzbekistan has served as the national coordinator of the initiative, under the leadership of Dilbar Abduganieva.
As Chief Financial Inclusion Officer, Dilbar oversees financial inclusion policies and drives reforms aimed at expanding access to finance for women and women entrepreneurs. She plays a leading role in aligning banks, microfinance institutions, government agencies, and associations around a shared vision for gender-inclusive finance. She also contributes her expertise globally as a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion Gender Inclusive Finance Committee.
Driving National Momentum
Under Dilbar’s leadership, Uzbekistan has translated commitment into concrete action to implement the WE Finance Code:
- Established a National Coalition of 19 institutions, uniting government bodies, banks, MFIs, and associations under the Code.
- Became the first country in Central Asia to adopt a National Charter under the WE Finance Code framework.
- Adopted 60 financial and non-financial measures through participating institutions’ Commitment Letters to support women entrepreneurs.
- Launched Uzbekistan’s first national dashboard on women’s financial inclusion, strengthening transparency and accountability.
Impact at Scale
The Uzbekistan Code is already delivering measurable results, including:
- 27,000 women entrepreneurs reached through nationwide training initiatives.
- 9,000 bank employees trained in gender sensitivity to improve institutional culture and service delivery.
- UZS 4.1 trillion in concessional financing facilitated for women-led businesses.
"The WE Finance Code has become a national coordination mechanism for us, ensuring structured action and consolidating the efforts of all stakeholders around a shared goal. It enables us to integrate international standards and strengthen a data-driven approach to advancing gender-inclusive finance."
A Key Lesson for Fellow Champions
Dilbar emphasizes that sustainable impact requires more than individual initiatives — it requires institutionalization. Embedding common standards and shared methodological frameworks within governance structures ensures coherence, comparability of results, and long-term accountability. At the same time, structured peer learning strengthens trust, ownership, and collective commitment across the coalition.
Looking Ahead
The next phase of the WE Finance Code in Uzbekistan will focus on strengthening and institutionalizing gender-disaggregated data systems across banks and financial institutions. By consistently tracking women-led MSME finance at scale, Uzbekistan aims to enable sharper accountability, more evidence-based policymaking, and better targeted financial products and support services for women entrepreneurs.
Through strategic leadership, coalition-building, and a strong commitment to data-driven reform, Dilbar Abduganieva is helping position Uzbekistan as a regional leader for women’s economic opportunities.
