EBRD backs SMEs and female entrepreneurs with $50mln loan to Kazakhstan’s KMF Bank
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is strengthening its partnership with Kazakhstan’s KMF Bank through a financing package of up to US$50 million (€43.4 million), Qazinform News Agency cites the Bank’s press service.
An EBRD client since 2005, KMF Bank will receive funding through two senior loans of up to US$40 million (€34.7 million) to support lending to private micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and up to US$10 million (€8.7 million) under the EBRD’s Kazakhstan Women in Business Programme II, which will be dedicated to supporting women-led and women-owned businesses. The two loans will be available in either US dollars or Kazakhstani tenge.
In addition to the financing, KMF Bank and its clients will benefit from advisory services, training, networking opportunities, mentoring, and other knowledge resources provided through the EBRD’s Advice for Small Businesses programme.
The project is supported by the government of Kazakhstan.
The EBRD has invested almost US$ 12.8 billion (€11 billion) in Kazakhstan to date through 354 projects, making the country the largest and longest‑running recipient of EBRD investment in Central Asia.
Previously, Qazinform reported Kazakhstan and the Islamic Development Bank launch new infrastructure projects.