The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is actively rolling out its risk-sharing framework (RSF) in Central Asia and Mongolia. Under the RSF, the EBRD commits to sharing half of the risk on loans extended by partner financial institutions, helping to unlock critical development opportunities for local businesses, Qazinform News Agency learnt from the Bank's press service. 

Record year for EBRD’s risk-sharing programme in Central Asia and Mongolia
Photo credit: EBRD
In 2025, the EBRD signed 31 risk-sharing transactions worth €28.5 million with 26 companies in Central Asia and Mongolia, an all-time regional record. The Bank supported privately owned companies, typically small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), mainly in the manufacturing, food production and agribusiness sectors, as well as the ones providing services.

Many of these transactions went beyond traditional financing, combining capital with investment grants and advisory services to help companies strengthen their capacity to handle financial and operational challenges, and boost their social, environmental and governance (ESG) practices.
Projects across the region included:

In Kazakhstan, Temirservice Astana, a privately owned railway operator, received a KZT 1.9 billion (€3.2 million) loan from Bank CenterCredit for the construction of an 11,000 m² class-A warehouse complex.

In the Kyrgyz Republic, Steelex, a leading aluminium extrusion manufacturer, received  4.8 million UD dollars (€ 4 million) from Demir Kyrgyz International Bank, to support its vertical integration and help to expand aluminium scrap recycling. The project will help with the adoption of inclusive human resources (HR) policies, introduce flexible work arrangements and launch a university internship programme. The EBRD and Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank also provided a joint $ 1.1 million US dollars (€ 0.9 million) loan to HTI Group, the country's leading plastic packaging manufacturer, to modernise its equipment and reduce energy consumption. The project will benefit from an investment grant for energy-efficient solutions.

The EBRD has used risk-sharing agreements since the early 2000s. Over the years, the Bank has expanded these into unfunded risk participations, first loss guarantees and co lending frameworks. The modern, scaled up version of risk sharing, especially the unfunded risk participation model widely used today in some countries, accelerated in the mid 2010s as part of the EBRD’s push to mobilise more private capital and support SMEs and green transition projects.

The EBRD is the largest institutional investor in Central Asia. To date it has financed 1,250 projects worth more than €21 billion.

As written before, Kazakhstan is a leader in foreign investments in Central Asia, stated Hüseyin Özhan, EBRD Managing Director for Central Asia and Mongolia.

Published Date:2026-02-21