Time to Talk: How Baiterek Holding supports small and medium-sized businesses during the pandemic

Aidar Arifkhanov and Gaukhar Buribayeva, the heads of Baiterek Holding and Damu Entrepreneurship Development Fund respectively, took part in Danil Moskalenko's Time to Talk TV show on the Atameken Business TV channel.

Aidar Arifkhanov noted that last year almost all the anti-crisis measures taken by the Government, which were prompt and effective, were put into effect by Baiterek Holding. It supported businesses and citizens in need of housing.

According to him, during the coronavirus crisis, Baiterek Holding and the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan promptly amended the legislation to help businesses gain access to financing immediately.

– For example, in July 2020, the “Business Roadmap-2025” program was expanded, making subsidies available at a rate of 6%. Entrepreneurs can receive up to 5 million tenge to replenish working capital and up to 20 million for investment purposes. If a bank requires a pledge, but an entrepreneur does not have it, he/she can receive a guarantee of up to 85% from Damu Entrepreneurship Development Fund, – said Aidar Arifkhanov.

According to Gaukhar Buribayeva, one of the most popular instruments for supporting small and medium-sized businesses is guaranteeing loans taken from second-tier banks. Entrepreneurs use this support when they do not have enough collateral.

– Since 2020, there has been a sharp increase in financing. If earlier we issued 2.5 thousand guarantees, then in 2020 almost 7.5 thousand guarantees were issued. About 6,000 projects have already been supported in the first quarter. Banks actively issue guarantees. We also indicate their importance, because we have switched to microcredits, which now provides a large amount of financing. Guarantees became popular because we simplified all the processes. We delegated the right to issue Damu Fund’s guarantees to the banks. Second-tier banks now issue 85% of all guarantees and up to 20 million tenge depending on the loan amount, – said Gaukhar Buribayeva.

The merger of KazAgro Holding and Baiterek Holding raised some questions. In this regard, Danil Moskalenko voiced the fears of Kazakhstani farmers that support for agriculture may “fade into the background.”

– I’m very glad that we were able to fulfill the instructions of the President on time, despite the pandemic. But this does not mean that support for agriculture will now pale into insignificance. KazAgro Holding did not directly support agriculture. It did this through its subsidiaries – Agrarian Credit Corporation, KazAgroFinance, and Fund for Financial Support of Agriculture. These subsidiaries have merged into Baiterek Holding and will continue to perform their duties. Today, the main issue is the financing spring sowing works. About 70 billion tenge has been allocated from the budget, – stated Aidar Arifkhanov.

Watch the full Russian version of the Time to Talk TV program here>>