AKIPRESS.COM - IFC signed an agreement with one of the Kyrgyz Republic’s leading financial institutions, Demir Kyrgyz International Bank (DemirBank), to help channel funding to smaller businesses across the country, including those owned by women. The initiative is part of a larger effort by IFC to spur economic growth and support small-scale entrepreneurs, who often struggle to secure the loans they need to expand their businesses.

IFC will provide DemirBank with a Kyrgyz som loan worth the equivalent of $10 million. The bank will use the proceeds to ramp up lending to small and medium enterprises. Some 25 percent of the funding will be earmarked for women-run businesses.

Micro, small, and medium enterprises account for 42 percent of the Kyrgyz Republic's gross domestic product but many have limited access to bank financing. The credit gap facing these businesses is about $1.4 billion.

“Thanks to this collaboration with IFC, DemirBank now has expanded its ability to support its existing and new MSME customers and especially women-led business with affordable loans. This is a good opportunity for the private sector entrepreneurs to benefit from this initiative. DemirBank will enhance its efforts further in order to expend relationship with MSME, which are the key players of developing economy”, said L. Sevki Sarilar, General Manager of DemirBank.

"Smaller businesses are the backbone of the Kyrgyz Republic's economy, but they struggle to access financing," said Cassandra Colbert, IFC Senior Manager, Central Asia. "IFC is pleased to support DemirBank and enable the bank to channel more funding to these enterprises, helping them to expand and create much-needed jobs."

Along with providing financing, IFC will help DemirBank develop products and services tailored to women entrepreneurs.

IFC’s engagement with the bank is supported by the Local Currency Facility of the International Development Association’s Private Sector Window. The partnership with DemirBank is part of a larger IFC effort to support private businesses and drive economic growth in the Kyrgyz Republic.