EBRD lends $60mln to Bank CenterCredit of Kazakhstan

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced it will provide a financial package of US$ 60 million (€55.3 million) to Kazakhstan's Bank CenterCredit (BCC) to promote "greater use of green technologies and create growth opportunities for small firms in the country," Kazinform News Agency reports.

"The package consists of a loan in Kazakhstan tenge equivalent to US$ 30 million under the EBRD’s Kazakhstan Green Economy Financing Facility II (GEFF Kazakhstan II)," a press release from the EBRD reads.

Being a part of the EBRD’s Green Economy Transition approach and supported by the Climate Investment Funds, GEFF Kazakhstan II, pursues a goal of  making green technologies more affordable to small businesses and households and provide more job opportunities. The EBRD plans to "become a majority green bank by 2025."

"The remaining US$ 30 million (loaned in the Kazakhstan tenge equivalent) will be used to support private micro, small and medium-sized enterprises across the country. Grant funds from the European Union’s Investment Facility for Central Asia will support the loan.

To date, the EBRD has invested €10.2 billion in 324 projects in Kazakhstan, with most of those funds supporting private entrepreneurship," reads the press release.