On December 15-16, the Association of Russian Banks in partnership with the Government of Kazakhstan, the United Nations Development Program in Kazakhstan (hereinafter referred to as UNDP) and the Moscow Small Business Lending Assistance Fund held a conference "Guarantees as a tool to increase the availability of debt financing for business".

Representatives of international organizations, government agencies, development institutes and the research community from Russia and Kazakhstan attended the conference.

The conference was organized to exchange experience in the field of guarantee support for business and to find practical ways to use the guarantee mechanism to finance energy-saving projects, including with the participation of UNDP.

Kazakhstan, within the framework of the Paris Climate Agreement, has adopted voluntary goals and commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One of the solutions to reduce emissions is low-carbon development through the implementation of energy efficiency and energy-saving measures and projects, including renewable energy sources.

Previously implemented pilot projects on energy efficiency and energy conservation lead to a reduction in production costs and an increase in the competitiveness of products, goods and services, but the transition to EE technologies is impossible only by the efforts of one state. In such initiatives, the role of business, which forms the basis of the national economy, is important. To do this, it is necessary to take additional, stimulating measures, both financial and non-financial, to involve business in this process.

The participants of the event discussed the prospects of using the guarantee mechanism to stimulate the financing of energy saving and energy efficiency measures, the practice of guarantee support for entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan and Russia, and other topical issues. They expressed their willingness to continue cooperation and planned to hold another conference in 2022 year.