The US$ 8.4 million loan was provided to URFA (Kyrgyzstan) by EBRD’s partner bank Demir Kyrgyz International Bank.
URFA is one of the biggest distributors of medical equipment and consumables to public and private healthcare institutions and centres in the Kyrgyz Republic.
It also provides private services, including imaging and laboratory diagnostics as well as dialysis treatments. In addition, URFA runs a small surgery and a rehabilitation centre.
The company provides 24/7 access to high-quality and affordable medical services to, potentially, 3.5 million people living in Bishkek, Osh and Jalal-Abad.
Even more patients could now benefit from their services as they can expand thanks to a loan and support from the EBRD and its donors.
To mitigate the risks of the lending, the EBRD Small Business Impact Fund (SBIF), established to channel donor resources into developing and growing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the EBRD’s regions, provided funds for a guarantee over the loan.
The EBRD also supported due diligence of the company. And the advisory team is planning to assist with corporate governance and strategic planning. All of them are funded through the SBIF.
New medical equipment, including MRIs (magnetic resonance imagining), CTs (computed tomography scan), ultrasound and X-ray machines as well as new monitoring systems are being purchased. Additionally, URFA’s rehabilitation and dialysis centres are being modernised.
Before URFA was founded in 1999 by Almaz Kimsanov, there was practically no private healthcare in the Kyrgyz Republic. Now, the company employs 350 people and occupies 21 per cent of the market for MRI services.
