ASTANA – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide up to $25 million to support women-led micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Kazakhstan through a new term loan to leading microlender KMF, the EBRD’s press service reported on April 24.
Photo credit: freepik
The financing aims to promote women’s entrepreneurship and business activity by assisting with access to finance, knowledge sharing, and technical advice.
The loan is provided under the EBRD’s Kazakhstan Women in Business Programme II, which is backed by the Kazakh government.
KMF, an EBRD client since 2005, has over 27 years of experience in financing local MSMEs and currently provides nearly a quarter of all microloans in Kazakhstan. It is expected to receive a banking license and transition into a Tier 2 financial institution in 2025.
To date, the EBRD has invested over 11 billion euros (US$12.4 billion) across 335 projects in Kazakhstan, mostly focusing on supporting private entrepreneurship.
