In August 2019, OeEB signed a USD 15 million bilateral credit line with the microfinance organization "KMF" Kazakhstan. The majority of the funding is dedicated to financing micro and small enterprises owned by women. With this project the first transaction of OeEB in Kazakhstan could be realized.
| Project name |
KMF Kazakhstan |
| Region |
Central Asia |
| Sector |
Financial sector / Microfinance / SME |
| Service |
Investment Finance |
| Project country |
Kazakhstan |
| OeEB project volume |
USD 15 million |
| Projekt partner(s) |
Microfinance organization "KMF" LLC |
In Kazakhstan, the largest economy in Central Asia, more than one third of the working population is employed in local small and medium-sized enterprises. SMEs are therefore an extremely important part of the local economy. Among other things, the KMF – the country's largest microfinance institution – has set itself the goal to improve access to financing and financial services for women entrepreneurs.
75 % of the credit line provided by OeEB will be dedicated to women-owned businesses and this way not only contribute to strengthening the local private sector and job creation but also to addressing the imbalance between men and women – two core goals of OeEB.