BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 25. As a step toward achieving gender equality, Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided a nonsovereign loan of $15 million to microfinance organization KMF Limited Liability (KMF), Trend reports via the reports of the ADB
According to the bank, although micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) make up nearly 97 percent of all business entities in Kazakhstan, only about a quarter of these are led or owned by women, who generally experience a lack of access to business financing.
The project incorporates a target of lending to 185,000 women-led MSMEs, with KMF also introducing new products and services tailored to the needs of women business customers.
Furthermore, ADB also successfully raised 14 billion Kazakhstan tenge (about $32 million) from its second gender bond issuance in the country, helping develop the local capital market and advance gender equality in housing finance
A gender bond is a fixed-income security that funds projects that support women's empowerment, gender equality, and access to finance, and is consistent with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.