The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) have organised a financing package of $4mn to support small private-sector firms in Tajikistan that invest in green technology solutions and to create new opportunities for women-led small businesses, the EBRD said in a statement. 

The funding will be provided to Arvand Bank, which serves nearly 100,000 clients via 72 branches and customer service outlets across Tajikistan including in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, a high altitude area occupying around half of the country’s territory with limited access to financial institutions. The package consists of a $2mn loan co-financed by the EBRD and the GCF under the bank’s Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) and a $2mn loan under the EBRD’s Women of the Steppe Programme in Central Asia.

The GEFF will help boost access to green technologies for local households and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The funding is part of the EBRD’s recently announced plan to increase climate and environmental finance in order to make 50% of its annual investment green by 2025.

The GEFF, supported in Tajikistan by GCF and South Korea, will also draw funds from the European Union’s Enhanced Competitiveness of Tajik Agribusiness Programme (ECTAP), which aims to promote competitiveness in the agribusiness sector.

“The WiB component of the package will help promote women’s entrepreneurship and business activity by assisting with access to finance, know-how and technical advice. The initiative also provides technical support to financial institutions to enhance the services they offer to women-led businesses,” the statement said. “The Women of the Steppe Programme is supported by the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), and Switzerland through the Small Business Impact Fund (SBIF).”

To date, the EBRD has invested €731mn via 139 projects in Tajikistan’s economy.