Damu Entrepreneurship Development Fund JSC has launched the implementation of the National Entrepreneurship Development Project for 2021-2025 (hereinafter referred to as the National Project), developed by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan represented by the Ministry of National Economy, in accordance with the instructions of the Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The Damu Fund has begun accepting applications for subsidizing part of the interest rate on loans under the National Project in all regional branches.
The national project combined the previously existing state business support and development program "Business Roadmap-2025" and the Economy of Simple Things. State support will be aimed primarily at supporting micro and small businesses. The government also decided to support priority sectors of the economy and the development of SMEs in mono-small towns.
In the first block of the National Project, an opportunity was provided for subsidizing loans / microcredits under the Regional Program to Support Entrepreneurs in Socially Vulnerable Regions or during the introduction of a state of emergency / emergency, or in other cases from the local budget, without sectoral restrictions.
Thus, the cooperation of the Damu Fund will be in close relationship with local executive bodies and will directly focus on the potential and opportunities of the region. Thanks to this innovation, an additional tool will appear to support private businesses.
The national project will be aimed at supporting micro-small and medium-sized businesses both in terms of subsidizing and guaranteeing instruments. The participation of large businesses was excluded from the program, and a counter obligation was established for the participants - according to the efficiency criteria in terms of increasing jobs.
Thus, in the second block, the following conditions are adopted for projects implemented in cities of republican significance / regional centers:
- for the subsidizing instrument, the maximum amount of credit / leasing is set to 3 billion tenge;
- Projects in priority sectors of the economy, such as manufacturing, services, etc., are subject to subsidies and guarantees. (63 OKED).
Subsidizing remains unchanged for loans from banks and leasing companies, where the Damu Fund will subsidize up to 6% per annum on loans whose interest rate does not exceed the base rate of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan + 5% per annum.
The third set of changes in the National Project touched upon projects in single-industry towns. Within the framework of subsidizing and guaranteeing in mono and small towns, rural settlements, the following conditions now apply:
- subsidizing the interest rate on a loan up to 5%, which will be paid by the entrepreneur himself;
- SME projects without sectoral restrictions will be subject to subsidies and guarantees;
- within the framework of the subsidizing instrument, the maximum loan/leasing amount is 1.5 billion tenge;
- within the framework of the guarantee instrument, the maximum loan amount is 360 million tenge;
- loans aimed at replenishing working capital for trading activities in the amount of up to 100 million tenge are subject to subsidies and guarantees.
For subsidizing refinanced loans / leasing, the limitation period for issuing a primary loan is up to 2 years. Also, under subsidy projects, the entrepreneur's own participation in loans over 180 million tenge is excluded.
Another innovation in the National Project: leasing companies can now act as creditors under the guarantee instrument.
For the first time, a guarantee instrument through the stock market was introduced, which was developed jointly with the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the regulation and development of the financial market (AFFR) and the Kazakhstan stock exchange KASE. Thus, special attention is paid to representatives of medium-sized businesses, for whom access to longer money is important. For them, an alternative channel is provided for attracting financing of medium-sized businesses at the expense of private and institutional investors on the KASE and AIFC platforms as part of the guarantee instrument. Guaranteeing is possible on secured debt bonds in the amount of up to 5 billion tenge using the guarantee of the Damu Fund up to 50%.
Changes and additions to the National Project should lead to an increase in the coverage of the business sector, as well as an increase in its efficiency.
For more detailed information, entrepreneurs can contact the regional branches of the Damu Fund at the place of project implementation.
