Kazakhstan Leads Eurasian Region in IFI Financing in Q3 2026
Kazakhstan recorded a 76% year-on-year increase in non-sovereign financing from international financial institutions (IFIs) in the third quarter of 2026, attracting an additional $207 million and becoming the region’s largest recipient of such financing, according to the Eurasian Development Bank’s (EDB) report New Players and Major Projects: International Financial Institutions’ Investments in Q3 2026.
The country’s financing growth was supported by the entry of new international lenders and continued investment by established partners in infrastructure and private-sector projects. Kazakhstan attracted financing from MIGA, the EDB, Proparco, the OPEC Fund and the Turkic Investment Fund (TIF).
The OPEC Fund approved its first non-sovereign operation in Kazakhstan, providing a $30 million loan to a Kazakh financial institution to support lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and agribusinesses. The TIF also commenced financing operations in the country, approving a loan of up to $10 million for KMF Bank and $20 million for the modernization of Almaty Airport.
Guarantees are becoming an increasingly significant instrument for mobilizing investment. MIGA provided $190 million in guarantee coverage for financing extended by Germany’s development bank KfW to the Development Bank of Kazakhstan for renewable energy projects. Across Eurasia, guarantees accounted for 21.9% of IFI financing in January–September 2026, compared with 4.1% in the corresponding period of 2025.
Infrastructure development remained a major area of financing in Kazakhstan. The EDB supported construction of the approximately 120,000-square-meter Griffin Logopark Almaty logistics complex and financed a new generating unit at the Ust-Kamenogorsk combined heat and power plant. The unit is expected to increase heat capacity by 130 Gcal per hour and electricity capacity by 100 megawatts.
The EDB and Mercury Properties also signed a memorandum of cooperation on the construction of the Mercury Logistics hub in Kazakhstan.
Across the Eurasian region, IFIs provided $1.07 billion in non-sovereign financing in July–September, down 36% year on year and 74% from $4.04 billion in the previous quarter. Nevertheless, financing for the first nine months of 2026 increased 50% year on year to $6.79 billion.
The quarterly decline was primarily attributable to fewer large-scale transactions and reduced financing in Uzbekistan, Armenia and Georgia. Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Mongolia registered increases, although these were insufficient to offset declines elsewhere.
The financial sector remained the largest recipient of IFI financing in the third quarter, accounting for $427.6 million, or 40% of the total.
Water infrastructure also recorded growth in financing, reaching $85 million in the third quarter. A major regional project was the construction of Azerbaijan’s first large-scale desalination plant, with a capacity of approximately 300,000 cubic meters per day. The AIIB approved a $45 million loan, while the OPEC Fund committed $40 million. The project will also represent Azerbaijan’s first public-private partnership in the water sector.
Meanwhile, conventional power generation attracted additional financing as investment in renewable energy declined.
The EDB expects IFI financing to recover in the fourth quarter. In 2022–2025, new operations in the final quarter averaged $2 billion, with the EDB, EBRD, AIIB and ADB expected to remain among the principal sources of additional financing.
