23.5 thousand business projects received state support in 2019

About 23.5 thousand projects of Kazakhstani businessmen in 2019 were supported by a subsidiary of the Baiterek holding, the Damu Entrepreneurship Development Fund. These and other results of the activity were announced by the head of the Foundation, Gaukhar Buribaeva, at a press conference in the Central Communications Service under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

According to her, with the use of financial instruments, the fund supported 85 thousand projects in the amount of loans of 5.3 trillion tenge. Last year, much attention was paid to improving the conditions for creating and running a business and developing the entrepreneurial potential of Kazakhstanis.

In general, under soft loan programs through second-tier banks, microfinance organizations and leasing companies, 61 thousand borrowers were funded for a total loan amount of 2.2 trillion tenge. In 2019, 18.7 thousand projects were funded in the amount of over 228 billion tenge.

The number of projects that received subsidized interest rates in 2019 for all programs increased by 80% compared to 2018 and reached the level of 2 641 projects in the amount of loans of 269.8 billion tenge. The amount of loans also increased by 36%. On subsidizing the interest rate, 15.5 thousand projects totaling 2.8 trillion tenge were supported.

In 2019, for all guarantee programs, the number of projects also increased by 38% compared to 2018 and amounted to 2,673 projects. The amount of loans amounted to 102.7 billion tenge, and the amount of guarantees amounted to 40.4 billion tenge. In total, the guarantee tool for the implementation period of the program supported 8.6 thousand projects for 302 billion tenge.

In 2019, Damu Fund supported about 23.5 thousand projects of entrepreneurs, and the financed amount of loans under the Fund's programs exceeded 600 billion tenge.

In 2019, the portal online.damu.kz was opened, on which entrepreneurs can: check their project for compliance / the possibility of obtaining state support (industry / regions); filing online applications for state support for subsidies, guarantees and soft loans.

In 2019, 67.5 billion tenge was attracted to support domestic entrepreneurs (including 35.3 billion tenge from ADB), eight memorandums / agreements were concluded as part of international cooperation.

Entrepreneurs who received state support measures contribute to the socio-economic development of Kazakhstan. So, according to preliminary data, in 2019, customers supported by the Fund released products worth 5,550 billion tenge and paid taxes worth over 450 billion tenge.

Damu Fund is a member of the Baiterek group of companies and is the main national development institute providing state support to micro, small and medium-sized businesses. The fund offers four main instruments: soft loans; subsidizing interest rates; loan guarantee; online training and escort of clients to financial institutions.

As part of the implementation of the lending program for priority projects “Economics of Simple Things”, the state program “Business Road Map 2025”, the Damu Fund is one of the main financial operators of state support measures.

The Fund implements support programs for the manufacturing industry at the expense of the National Fund of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the State Program for the Development of Productive Employment and Mass Entrepreneurship "Enbek", programs to support SMEs, including women's entrepreneurship, within the framework of attracted funds from ADB, EBRD, regional funding programs, jointly with akimats, and other programs to support small and medium-sized enterprises, at the expense of own and attracted funds.

Photo courtesy of CCS