The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) says it is supporting the development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Kazakhstan, including those owned or led by young people or women, and helping to improve access to green technologies by providing a financing package of up to US$ 200 million (€172.4 million) in local currency equivalent to the country’s third largest commercial lender, Bank CenterCredit (BCC). This is the largest bilateral financing package that the EBRD has ever provided to a bank in Kazakhstan.
The package consists of four separate senior loans of up to $50 million (€43.1 million) each:
- a loan aimed at supporting MSMEs across Kazakhstan, which are the backbone of the country’s economy, accounting for nearly 40 percent of GDP and employing over 4.4 million people
- a loan provided under the EBRD’s Kazakhstan Women in Business (WiB) program
- a loan under the EBRD’s Youth in Business (YiB) program for Central Asia, targeting MSMEs led or owned by individuals under the age of 35
- a loan under the Bank’s Kazakhstan Green Economy Financing Facility II, with support from CIF, which is designed to promote the use of renewable energy sources and help companies and households to reduce their energy consumption.
The loan supporting MSMEs and the loans under the WiB and YiB programs are supported by Kazakhstan’s government.
The EBRD has invested almost $12 billion (€10.2 billion) in Kazakhstan to date through 345 projects, making the country the largest and longest‑running recipient of EBRD investment in Central Asia.
