The Central Asian-American Enterprise Fund (the “Fund”, or “CAAEF”) was incorporated in 1994 as a not-for-profit corporation to encourage the creation and expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Central Asian Republics of the former Soviet Union (Kazakhstan, The Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). The Fund’s direct investments, SME and micro-loan programs, and technical assistance activities were directly responsible for: 

• Creating a diverse array of private business enterprises that continue to operate successfully and provide several thousand private sector employment opportunities;
• Developing the western business practice skills of its local staff, joint venture partners and managers, small business loan customers, and employees of the local Partner Banks that participated in The Fund’s SME loan program; and,
• Achieving a positive demonstration effect, by providing the close support and experience that now finds several of The Fund’s SME loan program Partner Banks offering small business term-loans directly to their customers, and other banks adopting similar lending activities that mirror the policies and procedures of CAAEF’s highly successful small business loan program.