AKIPRESS.COM - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is helping micro, small and medium-sized businesses across Kazakhstan by providing fresh funds to the country’s leading microlending institution KMF. They will help them grow and cope with the after-effects of the pandemic and the ongoing macroeconomic downturn.

A loan of up to US$ 25 million to KMF, the EBRD’s financial partner since 2005, will help channel much-needed funds to small businesses and women-led companies particularly in rural areas. Individual sub-loans of up to US$ 135,000 (in local currency equivalent) will help small domestic companies replenish their working capital and create new jobs.

In the context of this project KMF will benefit from specialised training programmes available under the EU-supported Regional Small Business Programme for Central Asia (RSBP).

The RSBP focuses on centralised knowledge sharing for banks, non-bank microfinance institutions and other facilitators of MSME-finance through the online knowledge sharing and exchange platform as well as through seminars and other training events.

In 2022 the EBRD marks 30 years since Kazakhstan joined the Bank. With more than US$ 9.6 billion invested in the country to date, this is the largest and longest-running uninterrupted banking operation of the EBRD in Central Asia.