The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan published an overview of the microfinance sector, outlining how it has expanded the regulatory perimeter and increased transparency for microfinance organisations (MFOs), credit partnerships (CPs) and pawnshops, while rolling out measures intended to support SME lending, particularly in the regions. The overview notes that CPs and pawnshops have been subject to a registration regime since 2020 and that all microfinance market participants have been brought under regulation since 2021, with licensing positioned as a key tool to improve transparency and standardise requirements. Measures to incentivise business lending include setting a reduced 50% risk-weighting factor for secured microloans for business purposes (2023), reducing the risk-weighting factor for vehicle-collateral microloans from 150% to 100% and discontinuing the requirement to calculate BJK for vehicle-purchase microloans (2024), and removing the requirement for CPs to calculate the borrower debt burden coefficient. The Agency also reports licensing 18 MFOs established with the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs and local executive bodies, introducing a simplified mechanism in 2022 for converting certain MFOs with extensive rural coverage into banks, easing listing requirements in 2021 for MFO bond issuers (with 20 MFOs placing equity and debt instruments totalling KZT 237.9bn on KASE), and registering the first Apex fund (APEX FUND I LP) in the Astana International Financial Centre in November 2023 to broaden CP funding sources. On market size and risk metrics, the Agency reports 897 microfinance entities operating, comprising 215 MFOs, 209 CPs and 473 pawnshops. MFO and CP assets rose from KZT 1,054bn at the start of 2021 to KZT 2,932bn by the third quarter of 2025, while the loan portfolio increased from KZT 925bn to KZT 2,402bn, with KZT 1,775bn (67%) lent to entrepreneurial borrowers; NPL 90+ stood at 4.7% for the overall portfolio and 2.9% for business microcredits as of 1 October 2025.
Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan 2025-12-29
Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market of the Republic of Kazakhstan reviews licensing and prudential incentives for microfinance organisations and credit partnerships
Kazakhstan's Financial Market Agency released an overview of the microfinance sector, noting expanded regulations and transparency for microfinance organisations, credit partnerships, and pawnshops. Initiatives include reduced risk-weighting for secured microloans, simplified rural MFO-to-bank conversions, and the first Apex fund registration. The sector's assets grew to KZT 2,932bn, with a loan portfolio of KZT 2,402bn by Q3 2025 and a 4.7% non-performing loan rate.