Central Asia

REMIT PRIME CENTRAL ASIA

Increasing access to remittances and expanding digital financial inclusion of migrants, remittance recipient families and returnees in Central Asia, with a particular focus on Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The programme will run in partnership with the public sector, the private sector and civil society between 2024 and 2027.

Enhance the enabling environment for affordable digital remittance markets by implementing supportive regulatory frameworks, fostering competition among service providers, investing in financial literacy programmes, and leveraging advanced technologies to reduce transaction costs and improve accessibility for underserved populations.

Affordability

Increase access to formal remittances and expand digital financial inclusion by developing robust digital infrastructure; promote partnerships between financial institutions and fintech companies; provide targeted outreach and education to marginalized communities; and implement policies that ensure affordable, secure and user-friendly remittance services for all.

Increased access and use of digital remittances

Promote sustainable financial and economic integration of remittance families and reintegration of returnees by implementing comprehensive support programmes that address their unique needs.

This involves providing financial education, vocational training, and employment services to enable them to make meaningful contributions to their communities.

Reintegration of returnee migrants

Programme Activities

Address the Data Gap

Strategic market information enables a deeper and broader understanding of the market and enables targeted capacity building for key stakeholders in order to create and utilize remittance data.

Expand access to digital remittances and financial education

Expand access to digital remittances through innovative business models and technologies, in close collaboration with public and private sector, particularly in rural communities.

• Foster financial inclusion initiatives linked to remittances

Co-finance and promote innovative, replicable and scalable financial inclusion initiatives promoting the link between remittances and complementary financial services

Economic integration of remittance families and returnees in rural areas

Develop interventions to include remittance-receiving families and returnees into agricultural finance and rural development programmes, with focus on women and youth in rural areas.

Collaborative dialogue, partnerships and policy engagement for an enabling environment

Promote dialogue and cooperation on remittances markets between regulatory bodies, industry actors and diaspora communities across the region, to improve the national regulatory frameworks, address challenges and build opportunities for synergies and interventions.

Guiding Principles

Innovation

Innovation is at the core of PRIME AFRICA. The programme identifies, applies and promotes a range of both innovative products and business models

Partnerships for success

PRIME Central Asia benefits from partnerships with public, private, and civil-society actors, to enhance its impact and raise further awareness on the importance of leveraging remittances
in Central Asia.

Country-level impact

RIME Central Asia is carrying out country specific interventions with the full involvement of key partners, to leverage local resources and institutionalize core achievements for project sustainability.

Scaling-up approach

PRIME Central Asia focuses on leveraging its achievements and impact across the region and in the four target countries to promote policy changes, mobilize additional resources and enhance partnerships to bring the results to scale.