What does the Ozara Digital Platform (ODP) for Participation Finance enable?

Kazakhstan Reform and Growth

Industrialisation and Economic Growth

Kazakhstan’s goal is to join the ranks of the 30 most developed countries in the world. Industrialisation and economic growth are required. Kazakhstan needs to find new domestic sources of growth through creating conditions to attract strategic investors, and for the development of public-private partnerships and local cooperatives.

Transparency and Accountability

Today, many industries are financed by the State. Financing from State corporations is not easily accessible and available. Government has embarked on unprecedented measures of privatisation and economic liberalisation. Alongside industrialisation and economic growth, a key task for Government is to increase transparency and accountability.

Islamic Finance in Kazakhstan

AIFC provides a unique opportunity to access projects and initiatives in the developing Islamic finance in the region. 70% of the total population in Kazakhstan are Muslims. Islamic finance assets are targeted to reach 10% of the Kazakhstan banking industry by 2025. 42% of population are between 24-54 years. Such a young population is a growth driver. It also provides increased opportunity for financial technology.

What the ODP enables for the Agriculture Sector

For example, Kazakhstan aims to attract strategic investment to develop dairy production. This is based on experience from member owned cooperatives in New Zealand and Denmark, the world leaders in the dairy business.

Lack of access to adequate capital investment and affordable credit has led to underinvestment in dairy farm infrastructure and constrained the ability of farmers to modernise, diversify and innovate.

There is significant State investment through direct aid and subsidies to reduce and restructure the indebtedness of agricultural enterprises and provide subsidised loans at discounted rates underwritten by the State.

The Ozara Digital Platform enables State and private sector investment to be directed to local Islamic Investment and Finance Cooperatives (IIFCs). The IIFC provides farmers, small and medium enterprises with Islamic compliant financing needed to help them develop their business.

Each IIFC is a member owned and run cooperative, so the funding is put to best use based on local knowledge. There is clear visibility of where the funding has been directed and how loans are performing. This enables strategic investment from the State and the private sector to directed to the areas where is can have the greatest impact.

Foundational work has already been completed. A legal entity is set up in the AIFC to develop and test the platform. Based on international best practices, comprehensive operating policies and procedures have been developed which detail the Islamic compliant products and services.