In April, Almaty hosted a round-table on green finance for small and medium-sized businesses in the tourism industry, which was attended by the representatives of KMF MFI, consultants from GEFF Green Finance Program from the EBRD, representatives of the DAMU Fund, the Green Finance Center, as well as representatives of banks and other organizations involved in tourism. The event was organized by the Kazakhstan Association of Hotels and Restaurants (KAGiR).
At the round-table, the participants of the meeting discussed topical issues of developing the green financing market, the prospects of investing in energy-efficient production technologies for the development of domestic tourism, and shared their experience in implementing green projects.
Domestic tourism in Kazakhstan has been developing rapidly and will become a key destination for Asian and Russian travelers in the coming years, as experts from the KAGiR believe. Green technologies and financing their purchase by Kazakhstani market players will help increase the competitiveness of local representatives of the hospitality industry.
Representatives of the hotel and restaurant business were presented the current program of KMF MFI on the GEFF green financing from the EBRD and its key areas of financing that may be in demand in the service sector, including:
· energy saving technologies: windows, doors, heating systems, lighting;
· energy-efficient equipment: cooling systems, refrigeration equipment, tractors, loaders, etc.
The main advantage of acquiring green equipment and technologies through KMF MFI is a 10% reimbursement of the purchase price. For more than two years, KMF MFI has been a partner of the GEFF Green Finance Program, and during this period hundreds of successful projects have been implemented and reimbursements have been paid.
Yekaterina Kartseva, GEFF consultant, also had an online speech at the event and described how to make the purchase of energy-efficient equipment more affordable for residents and businesses in Kazakhstan. She emphasized the opportunities of the GEFF program for the tourism industry and spoke in detail about the mechanism for acquiring green technologies and equipment through green financing instruments, as well as the benefits that both legal entities and individuals can take advantage of. One of these benefits is a reimbursement of 10% or 15% of the loan amount or the cost of energy-efficient equipment purchased with loan funds from the financial partners of the program. This compensation can be received not only for basic goods, but also for the cost of installation and design works, related products and delivery, provided that they are purchased for loan funds along with the main equipment. In addition, Yekaterina presented to the audience the Green Technology Selector, an online catalog of goods eligible under the GEFF program.
As a result of the meeting, members of the Association emphasized the high importance of available financial instruments for the tourism sector, and representatives of the hotel and restaurant business expressed their interest in acquiring energy-efficient equipment and technologies through green financing instruments of KMF MFI.
