Bishkek, 16 October 2024 – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) held a national multi-stakeholder workshop on “Gender and Climate Finance”, as part of the Kyrgyzstan Green Economy Financing (KyrSEFF III) programme.

The event brought together key stakeholders to discuss ways to facilitate mainstreaming of gender aspects in green finance in Kyrgyzstan. The workshop presented key findings of the Gender Baseline Assessment, followed by a panel discussion on the importance of strengthening women’s role in mitigating climate change through green finance.

The KyrSEFF programme aims to facilitate the transition to an environmentally sustainable, low-carbon and climate-resilient economy. Gender considerations are integrated in the programme to ensure equal access to climate finance for both men and women.

The Gender Baseline Assessment conducted as part of the programme informs about the differentiated needs of women and men in the face of climate change and raises awareness on the benefits of green technologies and gender gaps in accessing climate finance.

The presentation of the Baseline Assessment offered key recommendations for overcoming barriers for women’s access to entrepreneurship and climate finance. The recommendations included development of legislation legitimizing the green economy and climate finance, personalization of financial products aimed at supporting women’s initiatives, and development and delivery of online courses for women on green technologies and climate change, among others.

EBRD Regional Head Ayten Rustamova noted the Bank’s commitment to inclusive and sustainable growth and continued support to women entrepreneurs in the country. “A few weeks ago, we adopted a new strategy for Kyrgyzstan for 2024-2029, where energy efficiency of projects is a priority. We are confident that other Women in Business projects will be as successful as KyrSEFF. According to KyrSEFF, more than 40% of sub-borrowers are women, which confirms their high activity in Kyrgyzstan,” she noted.

Dinara Ashimova, the Deputy Chairman of the Council for Sustainable Development in the Context of Climate Change at the Jogorku Kenesh (Parliament) of the Kyrgyz Republic made a welcoming speech. She mentioned that in Kyrgyzstan, women face many obstacles not only during career building, but also in everyday life.  “Women are the most vulnerable to climate change, so gender–sensitive analyses are very important, because it gives us important baseline to understand where we are,” said Dinara Ashimova.

The workshop concluded with a panel discussion with experts from the business sector, who discussed the role of women in mitigating the effects of climate change. They debated important questions such as what are the crucial barriers that need to be addressed to promote equal access to green finance in Kyrgyzstan and what role do financial institutions play in addressing these barriers to encourage the uptake of green finance by women-led businesses and women sub-borrowers.

“Women entrepreneurs from Kyrgyzstan are underfunded by $1.5 billion. In addition, there is a lack of funding for women’s start-ups, although women’s multitasking in performing professional tasks and at the same time performing household chores should not be detracted from,” said Zhyldyz Isabekova, director of Accelerate Prosperity Kyrgyzstan.

The workshop participants concluded that it is necessary to pay attention to gender and climate issues, and that joint efforts from the state, the financial sector, and gender and climate experts is key to overcome these obstacles and work towards equal access to green finance.

The national multi-stakeholder workshop thus presented an opportunity to network and discuss the way forward for gender-responsive climate finance in Kyrgyzstan.

The event was held with the support of the Government of Japan.