Kazakhstan launches Finance Platform for Women Entrepreneurs

Kazakhstan has made a major step towards enhancing women entrepreneurship by introducing its first national analytical platform for monitoring the promotion of financing of women entrepreneurs. The initiative launched by the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market, offers a clear and informative perspective on accessing financial resources for women-led businesses based on data. The project will help to enhance financial inclusion, inform policy decisions and help increase access to finance for women-owned businesses nationwide.

The platform is created within the framework of the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Program in the Republic of Kazakhstan, which is implemented in cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The project aims to increase women's access to finance, enhance data-based policy making and increase the financial opportunities for women entrepreneurs.

One of the major success stories of the platform is developing a methodology for identifying women entrepreneurs in the national lending system. The Agency has also gathered and organised credit data from financial institutions and developed a sound credit data system which allows making a thorough evaluation of women's access to entrepreneurial lending. This will enable the policymakers and finance institutions to gain a better understanding on financing trends, identify gaps and initiate corresponding policies and programs to facilitate women-led enterprises.

 Key Highlights

• Kazakhstan launches first platform tracking financing for women entrepreneurs nationwide
• New analytics strengthen financial inclusion for women-led businesses across Kazakhstan
• It supports data-driven policies enhance women entrepreneurship and business growth
   

The analytical platform tracks financing to women's businesses in the banking and microfinance sectors. It includes profiles of business credit portfolios of small, medium and large enterprises and provides useful information on access to funding for businesses by women entrepreneurs in various industries.

Its analytical tools give information in detail about credit portfolio sizes, quality and structure as well as show financing trends in regions and sectors. The platform also provides demographic and organisational characteristics of borrowers which will help stakeholders to know where women entrepreneurs are being adequately financed and also where they need intervention.

The integrated filtering system lets the user create customised reports based upon reporting date, business size, business entity type and region. The feature can be used to examine trends at the national level or look at specific industries and regions, helping policy makers make informed decisions to foster gender equality and inclusive economic growth through women entrepreneurs.

The platform will enhance transparency in financing women entrepreneurs by creating access to reliable data on financing, said the Agency. The data of better quality will allow it to be used for evidence-based decision-making and develop targeted financial programs for financial inclusion and development of women-led businesses in Kazakhstan.

The Agency's statement indicated that “the launch of the platform marks an important step in strengthening the economy and financial system of female entrepreneurs. The program would enhance women entrepreneurs' analytical skills, policy making and increase financial support to women entrepreneurs across the country”.

The Agency also stated that it will keep improving the platform to make the data more useful and improve its analytical capabilities. It is hoped that through these actions more equitable access to financial resources will be provided, the level of support for women entrepreneurs will be strengthened and women entrepreneurship in Kazakhstan will be developed in the long run.