Tashkent (TDI): In 2024, IFC committed over $1 billion to Central Asia which includes about $400 million in long-term financing from our own account, $600 million in mobilization, and $35 million in short-term trade and supply-chain finance to facilitate trade flows.
This was revealed by Hela Cheikhrouhou, IFC Vice President for the Middle East, Central Asia, Türkiye, Afghanistan, and Pakistan about the IFC’s work in Central Asia, in an interview with TCA.
“Alongside these financial commitments, we engaged in advisory projects focused on improving financial inclusion, developing innovative public-private partnerships (PPPs), and advancing climate initiatives and gender equality,” she added.
“Our results this year underscore our commitment to fostering sustainable, inclusive growth, and enhancing the resilience and sustainability of Central Asian economies.”
IFC invested $228 million across ten financial institutions in Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Up to half this amount was dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs and rural enterprises.
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She said that IFC also helped these financial institutions expand portfolios related to their micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) businesses, advance climate finance, foster digital transformation, and issue the region’s first sustainability, social, and green bonds.
According to her Supporting MSMEs has enabled entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and generate employment.
In the past fiscal year alone, IFC-supported projects created around 35,000 direct jobs, including opportunities for over 13,000 women across the region.
These efforts have been further bolstered by targeted investments and projects in individual countries across the region.
In Uzbekistan, IFC, together with the World Bank, financed a new solar plant equipped with the country’s first battery energy storage system.
As part of its broader support for the Uzbek government’s efforts to reform its chemical sector, IFC assisted the State Asset Management Agency in privatizing Ferganaazot, a local nitrogen-based fertilizer producer.
Additionally, we financed Anglesey Food LLC, the country’s leading grocery retailer operating the Korzinka chain.
In Tajikistan, IFC invested in the nation’s first green bond, issued by Eskhata Bank, which will support climate-smart initiatives and MSMEs engaged in environmental projects.
As a strategic advisor, IFC assists the Tajik government in structuring a PPP to mobilize private sector expertise and capital for its inaugural 200-megawatt solar plant in the Sughd region. This landmark project is expected to significantly enhance Tajikistan’s solar energy capacity, mobilizing up to $200 million in private financing.
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In Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic, IFC is not only focused on enhancing financial inclusion but also actively pursuing a diverse range of opportunities.
These initiatives include PPPs in areas such as drinking water supply, renewable energy – including networked geothermal solutions for heating and cooling – railway projects as part of the Middle Corridor development, and introducing the first municipal green bonds in Central Asia.
The IFC Vice President elaborated a long list of work for development and other projects in Central Asia.
