"Damu" Entrepreneurship Development Fund"
"Damu" Entrepreneurship Development Fund" JSC (hereinafter - "Damu" Fund”) was established on the basis of the Government Order of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated April 26, 1997 No 665 "On Establishment of “Small Entrepreneurship Dеvelopment Fund”.
According to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan On certain measures to optimize development institutions, financial institutions and national economy development management system” No571 dated May 22, 2013, the sole shareholder of “Damu” Fund is “Baiterek National Holding” JSC.
“Damu” Fund has more than 20 years of experience in supporting small and medium business in Kazakhstan. Until 2010, most of the participants of “Damu” Fund’s programs received financial support under the program of Conditional Placement of Funds in Second-Tier Banks. Implementation of conditional placement of funds programs has played an important part in reducing the overall level of interest rates on loans granted to small and medium-sized businesses.
"Damu" Fund provides financial support to small and medium-sized businesses.
Types of financial support:
- soft lending through second-tier banks in the framework of targeted programs for specific regions and industries, microcrediting through the microcredit orgainzations;
- loans subsidizing - reducing interest rates burden on loans for business development, issued by banks;
- guarantee instrument - providing partial guarantees as collateral for bank loans;
Also, on the basis of the regional branches of the Damu Fund, attraction managers provide advisory services on all financial programs of the Damu Fund.
With the launch in 2010 of the state “Business Road Map 2020” programme, the range of tools to support entrepreneurship through “Damu” has expanded greatly. In particular, subsidization of interest rates on loans to small and medium-sized businesses, credit guarantees for small and medium-sized businesses were started and a large-scale implementation of training programs and consulting services to small and medium-sized businesses was launched.
“Damu” Entrepreneurship Development Fund” JSC (hereinafter – “Damu” Fund/the Fund) was established Government Order of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 26.04.1997 No 665 “On Establishment of “Small Entrepreneurship Development Fund”.
Until 2001 the Fund was acting as an agent for Accounting and Control of use of the state budget funds under the Domestic Commodity ProducersSupport Program, and for credit facilities of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Asian Development Bank.
Since 2002 the Fund had started lending to small businesses directly from their own funds. “Damu” Fund had implemented the “Lending Program for Small Businesses from the National Budget" and “Small Towns’ Development Program for 2004-2006”.
In May, 2005, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan had adopted the "Program of accelerated measures for the development of small and medium enterprises in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2005-2007". Under this Program, over the period of 2005-2007 the Fund was granting support to small enterprises (hereinafter - SEs) through implementation of project financing and leasing programs, development of microlending program in Kazakhstan, and guarantee programs for SE loans received in second-tier banks (hereinafter - STBs).
Since April, 2006, “Damu” Fund has been operating as part of “Kazyna” Sustainable Development Fund” JSC share holding.
Based on the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 22.05.2013, No571 “On certain measures to optimize development institutions, financial institutions and national economy development management system”, 100% shares in "Damu" Fund were transferred to "Baiterek" National Holding" JSC (hereinafter – "Baiterek" NH" JSC). Prior to this Decree 100% shares in “Damu” Fund JSC were owned by “Samruk-Kazyna” National Welfare Fund” (hereinafter – “Samruk-Kazyna” NWF” JSC) and from 28.12.2011 were in trust management of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan and from 10.04.2013 – of the Ministry of Regional Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Currently, “Baiterek” NMH" JSC is the sole shareholder the Fund.
Since the end of 2007 the Fund has been performing functions of an operator for the conditional placement of funds under Stabilization Programme of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Since 2010 "Damu" Fund has been acting as a financial agent for subsidization of interest rates on loans to businesses and provision of banks with guarantees on entrepreneurs’ loans, and acting as an operator of training and consulting programmes as part of “Business Road Map 2020” government program (hereinafter – BRM 2020 Program).
Since 2015, “Damu” Fund has been a financial agent, implementing and monitoring financial support (subsidies for interest rates on loans to businesses, providing guarantees to banks on entrepreneurs’ loans) as part of "Business Road Map 2020" Unified business support and development program.
In 2017, the Program for the Development of Productive Employment and Mass Entrepreneurship began. The goal of the Program is to increase the number of small businesses by creating financial and non-financial (training) conditions for citizens with entrepreneurial talent. Within the framework of the program, the Damu Fund provides funding to STBs and microfinance institutions that provide loans / micro-loans at a rate of up to 6% to entrepreneurs in cities. Together with this, the Damu Fund provides guarantees for credits / microcredits granted in cities.
In 2012-2014, 18 Entrepreneurs Service Centers (hereinafter – “ESCs”) were set up in all regional centers and the cities of Astana, Almaty, Semey and Turkestan, as well as 14 mobile Business Support Centers (hereinafter – “BSCs”).
Regional branches of “Damu” Fund operate in all the regions of Kazakhstan; they have considerable experience of working with local businesses, public organizations and local executive authorities. Learn more by following this link.
- ensuring the availability of funding to all small and medium-sized businesses having development potential;
- increasing the accessibility and efficiency of credit resources for private businesses;
- ensuring efficient allocation of credit resources by maximizing coverage of private entrepreneurs regionally and sectorally;
- promoting economic diversification and competitiveness among small and medium-sized businesses;
- expansion of tools to support small and medium-sized businesses, which have a high potential for the expansion of domestic production, innovation and increased competitiveness of their products;
- development of competences of private entrepreneurs and involvement of population in the entrepreneurship.
- Support and development of start-ups and active entrepreneurs:
- Expansion of micro-business lending, development and implementation of support instruments for MFIs and credit partnerships;
- Increase of the proportion of coverage of existing MSME by financial programs of the Fund;
- Ensuring cost effectiveness of supported MSME enterprises.
- Sustainable institutional development of the Fund:
- Attraction of additional sources of financing;
- Achieving the planned level of financial performance;
- Automation of business processes;
- Raising of the level of corporate governance.
Learn more about the policy of “Damu” Fund by following this link.
“Damu” Fund is represented by sixteen branches in all regional centers and in the cities of Astana, Almaty and Shymkent.
