Baiterek to Provide Guarantees: Bank Loans for SMEs Will Become More Accessible

Chairman of the Management Board of National Managing Holding Baiterek, Rustam Karagoyshin, spoke on May 8, 2026, on the sidelines of the Government meeting about the company’s activities and new support instruments for small and medium-sized businesses, according to Zakon.kz.

According to Rustam Karagoyshin, in 2025 the Holding’s total financing volume across all areas reached KZT 10.4 trillion instead of the planned KZT 10 trillion.

Last year:

• 77 major investment projects were financed;
• support was provided to 27,400 SME projects;
• 131 exporting enterprises received financing;
• 7,200 agricultural producers received support for spring sowing and harvesting campaigns.

In addition, with the support of the Holding, 77,500 families were provided with housing.

“This made it possible to contribute up to one percentage point to GDP growth in 2025. In 2026, the Holding will maintain financing for the real sector of the economy at the level of KZT 8 trillion. More than half of this amount will be channeled through second-tier banks. The volume of support for banks increased from KZT 3.1 trillion last year to KZT 4.1 trillion,” said the head of the Holding.

According to him, as a result of the Holding’s support, more than 20,000 new jobs were created in 2025, while over 140,000 jobs were preserved. Tax revenues to the state budget amounted to KZT 596 billion.

During the briefing, Karagoyshin also spoke about the mechanism of cooperation between the Holding, regional administrations, and sectoral ministries. Under the “investment order” principle, government agencies form a pool of projects aligned with the needs of the economy. These include strategically important industries, infrastructure facilities, new technologies, and niche-oriented services.

“These projects are submitted for consideration by the Holding. In addition, preliminary agreements have been reached with the National Bank and the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market to expand the participation of second-tier banks in financing projects,” the speaker clarified.

Rustam Karagoyshin noted that within this ecosystem, SME support mechanisms cover all financial instruments offered by the Holding.

“The main goal is to create an affordable lending system in priority sectors under the ‘Orleu,’ ‘Isker Aimaq,’ and other programs. We have now launched a new program called ‘Orleu Leasing.’ This project is aimed at modernizing the production capacities of SMEs operating in priority sectors. In addition, a guarantee mechanism will be introduced so that second-tier banks can issue loans to entrepreneurs without lengthy collateral reviews. This is because each bank has different collateral assessment requirements. By simplifying this process, we are creating favorable financing conditions for entrepreneurs. For example, for loans up to KZT 3.5 billion, we provide guarantees covering up to 85 percent. The total support amount may reach KZT 7 billion,” said the head of Baiterek Holding.

He also stated that under the “Isker Aimaq” program, subsidies of up to KZT 200 million are planned.

“We are developing this program jointly with regional administrations, and priorities are determined directly based on regional demand. In other words, each akimat will support the sectors it considers most important for development in its region. Current priorities include manufacturing, IT, hotel business, tourism, and the development of new software products. Particular attention is being paid to the processing sector, including food production, flour manufacturing, leather processing, and many other areas. In general, almost all types of economic activities related to manufacturing are included in this program,” Karagoyshin said.

In line with the scale and objectives of the new investment mission, the Holding’s existing structure has also been modernized. The organizational model has been strengthened with a focus on investments and sectoral specialization.

In particular, sectoral investment directorates have been established through the redistribution of functions among structural divisions. These directorates cover the agro-industrial complex, food industry, construction and building materials production, mining and metallurgy, mechanical engineering, energy, chemicals, infrastructure, logistics, transport, tourism, and other sectors.

In addition, an Investment Council composed of independent directors has been formed. The council includes experts with experience in implementing major projects. They are responsible for assessing project viability, developing financing structures, attracting large investors, and selecting projects of national importance.

“Taking the agro-industrial complex as an example, the pool of projects selected under the National Digital Investment Platform will significantly reduce the domestic market’s dependence on foreign supplies and help ensure the availability of domestic agricultural products. According to preliminary forecasts, by 2030 these projects will make it possible to fully substitute imports of milk and cheese, poultry meat, sugar, and greenhouse vegetables. In addition, the projects will increase self-sufficiency in processed meat products and reduce import dependence by up to 79 percent,” said the head of Baiterek Holding.

In conclusion, Rustam Karagoyshin emphasized that in 2026 the Holding will maintain financing for the real sector of the economy at the level of KZT 8 trillion.