Betsy Nelson is the Vice President of Risk and Compliance and Chief Risk Officer at the EBRD. She was previously Vice President of Risk and is a member of the Bank's Executive Committee. She is also an advocate of the EBRD's Women in Business programme, which gives finance and advice for women entrepreneurs in the EBRD's regions of operation, such as Kazakhstan.
“The Women in Business programme is oriented at supporting women-owned or women-led businesses. It is a financing line that we give to the banks and then the banks under our guidance lend on to women businesses. It comes connected with a number of aspects, which gives them access to finance, which is one of the challenges of women’s businesses," explains Betsy.
"We often have connections to trainers or advisers or consultants who can work with them to help them develop breakthroughs for their business if they want to grow them. For example, if somebody wants to export or add more value to the process that they have, we’ll get them a consultant who can work with them to achieve that. We help women network and have access to services."
As well as its Women in Business programme, the EBRD is investing in countless other exciting projects to improve the investment environment in Kazakhstan.
Betsy speaks to The Astana Times about how the EBRD is working with the Kazakh government and the private sector on investment projects and reforms to help make a positive impact on society, particularly to the lives of women. Read more of the interview here.
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Disclosure: Where Women Work researches and publishes insightful evidence about how its paid member organizations support women's equality.