For Baiterek Holding, support for small and medium-sized businesses is one of the key areas of activity. A subsidiary organization, the Damu Entrepreneurship Development Fund, was launched for this, today it has been operating for 25 years.

As noted by Arifkhanov under the state program, small and medium-sized businesses can receive support in the form of subsidies and loan guarantees, with a lack of collateral.

“We support business in small or mono cities and rural areas, in priority sectors of the economy, as well as the development of export potential, our exporters, who enter the markets of near and far abroad. For the entire duration of this program, 13 thousand projects have been subsidized and 5 thousand projects have been guaranteed (since 2010)” Arifkhanov said.

Arifkhanov noted that the holding actively cooperates in the implementation of the program with the regional akimats. Such support for entrepreneurs has a great positive effect on the economy of Kazakhstan. Over the years of the implementation, the program participants paid 900 billion tenge of taxes, ensured output of about 13.5 trillion tenge. It helped create more than 90 thousand new jobs, about 312 thousand existing vacancies were supported.

In addition, through the Damu Fund, there are 18 Entrepreneurship Service Centers and Mobile Entrepreneurship Support Centers, which operate in 14 regions of Kazakhstan. The most comfortable conditions on the principle of "single window" were created for entrepreneurs. Consultants in various areas, employees of service companies, Atameken NCE, representatives of second-tier banks, and Damu Fund work in the operating rooms of the center.

“Since the opening of the Entrepreneurship Service Centers (since 2013), more than 349 thousand clients have been served on their base, they have received 545 thousand consultations. From 2018, on the basis of the fund’s entrepreneurship service centers, managers have provided services for supporting entrepreneurship projects until approval of their applications by second-tier banks for lending,” Arifkhanov said.

From 2018 to 1 May 2019, 7.7 thousand projects were accompanied on the basis of the Business Service Center.

According to Arifkhanov, on the instructions of the First President – Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Business Road Map 2020 program is extended for another five years. It is planned to increase the size of loans to subsidize and guarantee the replenishment of working capital from 60 million tenge to 360 million. The list of loan objectives will expand — henceforth entrepreneurs who start their own business or develop new lines of operating business using Kazakhstan and foreign franchising will be supported. Participant program operators will be expanded to include microfinance organizations.

In addition, the holding, through its subsidiary organization QazTech Ventures, is developing a business incubation system. The company will provide methodological, advisory support to the activities of incubators on the commercialization of projects, through the involvement of external experts, and assist in obtaining grant support for projects by residents of business incubators. In 2019, support for at least three business incubators is planned.