OREANDA-NEWS. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, signed an agreement on October 10 to provide financing of $4 million to the Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank, a closed joint-stock company, which will enable the bank to expand its financial products for micro and small enterprises, a key source of job creation and poverty reduction in the Kyrgyz Republic, IFC's press service reported.

The project is part of IFC’s $45 million Central Asia Micro and Small Enterprises Facility, which makes loans to selected local banks for onlending to micro and small enterprises in Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan in cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

“We value highly IFC’s long-term, strategic partnership. This is our second credit line with IFC in four years. The first had an important role in developing the small and medium enterprise sector in our region, and this additional financing will help develop both the sector and the economy,” said Kwang-Young Choi, Chairman of the Management Board of the Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank.

IFC’s investment is expected to provide the Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank with longer-term resources for lending to micro and small enterprises, thus supporting the private sector and ensuring the bank’s growth and loan portfolio diversification. “The support of sound financial intermediaries is a key pillar in IFC’s strategy in the Kyrgyz Republic. We are delighted to continue investing in the Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank, a key player in the country’s financial sector that is committed to providing much needed financial services to a greater number of smaller businesses,” said IFC Vice President for Risk Management Michel G. Maila.

IFC is a founder of the Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank with an equity stake of 20 percent. Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank’s other founders also include the government of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), Deutsche Investitions und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG), KfW Entwicklungsbank (KfW) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank is a closed joint-stock company that was incorporated in the Kyrgyz Republic in January 2001.  The bank provides a full range of domestic and international services such as lending, international and national payment services, and current accounts management to micro, small, and medium enterprises, as well as individual entrepreneurs. Headquartered in Bishkek, KICB has three branches in Bishkek, Osh, and Jalal-Abad.