Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Lending Networks on Crowdfunding Platforms: Development Perspectives in Kazakhstan (Central Asian Economic Review)

Summary

• The share of SMEs in GDP in Kazakhstan increased from 28.4% in 2018 to 36.5% in 2023, employing 4.3 million people across 2.2 million registered entities.p.2
• Under a state support program, SME project financing is subsidized at an 8% interest rate for the first three years, 9% in the fourth year, and 10% in the fifth year.p.2
• The largest platform, iKapitalist, has provided a total of 9.5 billion tenge in investments to small and medium-sized businesses in Kazakhstan.p.8
• Real estate crowdfunding platform Proportunity reached a total turnover of 10.2 billion tenge with 1.5 billion tenge under active fund management.p.8
• The global crowdfunding market is projected to grow by USD 310 billion between 2025 and 2028 at a compound annual growth rate of 14.94%.p.9

Key insights

1. Crowdlending represents the fastest-growing alternative financing model in Kazakhstan, enabling SMEs to secure short-term working capital at interest rates lower than banks.p.1
2. In 2022, crowdfunding platforms offered projects with average investor returns of about 20–30%, outperforming mainstream stock and bond markets.p.7
3. The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) maintains five active platform licenses, including two full licenses and three sandbox licenses in its FinTech Lab.p.7
4. The average crowdfunding platform investor in Kazakhstan is over 37 years old and invests approximately KZT 1 million.p.8
5. iKapitalist ranked No. 4 in the CIS by volume of attracted investments in 2022 compared to Russian market figures.p.8
6. P2P lending in Kazakhstan remains largely unregulated and in an early stage of development despite offering direct debt funding without intermediaries.p.1
7. The Asia-Pacific region is anticipated to capture 62% of the global crowdfunding market in the near future.p.9