EBRD, Kyrgyzstan’s Optima Bank back SMEs under $ 20 m Risk Sharing Facility

23 / 05 / 2019

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By Marwa Nassar - -

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Kyrgyzstan’s Optima Bank signed a 20-million-dollar Risk Sharing Facility (RSF) in order to support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Loans to SMEs in theKyrgyz Republic will become more widely available to a greater number of domestic firms following the signing of the four-year RSF, according to EBRD.

The EBRD will share the risk of up to 50 per cent on individual loans made by Optima Bank to SMEs to a total amount of up to US$ 20 million. The RSF will help increase the size and tenor of loans, which will be available both in hard and domestic currencies, to businesses across the country.

Borrowers under the RSF will also have the opportunity to benefit from various technical cooperation programs, which will offer the best international expertise available in areas such as financial management, IT development and the optimization of production and management processes.

To date, the EBRD has invested over $ 825 million in the economy of the Kyrgyz Republic, with a majority of investments supporting private entrepreneurship.