NUR-SULTAN – In 2021, 47,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will receive preferential lending, said Kazakh Minister of National Economy Aset Irgaliyev at a May 4 government meeting.
During the meeting. Photo credit: Kazakh Ministry of National Economy
Irgaliyev spoke about the measures being passed to support SMEs amid the pandemic.
“For the first quarter of this year, more than 16,000 SMEs received support as part of the state programs of concessional financing amounting to 663 billion tenge (US$1.5 billion). This year will see more than 47,000 projects of SMEs receiving preferential financing,” said Irgaliyev.
SMEs have been an important driver of the country’s economic growth employing nearly 3.4 million people. In three quarters of 2020, the share of SMEs in the economy reached 30.5 percent, from 28 percent in 2018.
In 2020 the SMEs produced goods worth 32.7 trillion tenge (US$76.3 billion).
Supporting SMEs has been on the government’s economic agenda as the nation tries to recover from the pandemic.
Businesses that were affected by the pandemic will have their term of concessional refinancing of loans extended until July 1, 2021.
As part of the nation’s Business road map 2025 and Economy of Simple Things programs, 5,884 projects were subsidized for a total amount of 232 billion tenge (US$541.9 million), while 6,892 projects were offered guarantees of 87 billion tenge (US$203.2 million).
More than 60 new measures are envisioned in the updated comprehensive plan to restore economic growth, reduce the burden on businesses, expand entrepreneurs access to financing, access to demand markets, among others measures.
“In the new economic environment, a new regulatory policy is being developed to create the most favorable and stimulating conditions to revive entrepreneurial activity and attract private capital. The introduction of a register of mandatory requirements, an experimental legal regime, new forms of state control, and automated reporting for business entities are among them as well,” said Irgaliyev.
