ASTANA – Approximately 11,180 individuals, including 6,270 women, have applied to participate in the Nurly Zher housing construction programme since 2017, according to a report presented at the June 6 National Commission for Women and Family and Demographic Policy meeting chaired by Secretary of State Gulshara Abdykalikova.
She noted President Nursultan Nazarbayev pays attention to the well-being of all families.
“The 7-20-25 programme providing a low-cost, long-term mortgage loan is the first one of the five social initiatives. The Nurly Zher programme, aimed at solving mortgage problems and construction of rental and commercial housing, is also being implemented on instructions of the head of state,” she said.
Women have benefitted in several ways. To date, 4,105 women have purchased homes, according to Zhilstroisberbank. The Damu Entrepreneurship Development Fund implemented a microloan programme for women entrepreneurship in 2010 that provides microloans with preferential terms. Since its inception, 1,654 people have received loans totalling 14.3 billion tenge (US$43 million).
The report also indicated 41,855 borrowers and 14,374 women entrepreneurs in rural regions were granted loans as part of the Productive Employment and Mass Entrepreneurship Development 2017-2021 programme.
The Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs launched the Business Bastau project to increase the market activities of the self-employed and unemployed in the regions. As a result, 15,000 people, 41.5 percent of whom are women from 14 regions, participated in the training. At present, 3,314 people, including 1,204 women, have started and expanded their businesses.
Small and medium-sized businesses are also supported as part of programmes initiated by Asian Development Bank. One-third of lending is directed to women and 750 projects worth 51.9 billion tenge (US$155 million) have been financed.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) allocated 11.1 billion tenge (US$33 million) to support 256 entrepreneurs as part of the Women in Business programme.
