Beksar: Unlocking credit for small businesses in Kazakhstan through embedded finance solutions
This program supports Beksar in digitizing and financing micro and small retailers in Kazakhstan by combining retail automation, real-time data, and inclusive embedded finance to improve efficiency, resilience, and access to credit—especially for women-owned businesses.
Why this program?
- There are over 2 million micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Kazakhstan, employing more than 4 million people across the country.
- Small businesses in Kazakhstan face a financing gap of $42.3 billion, driven by barriers such as limited collateral, lack of formal reporting, and low financial literacy. Many entrepreneurs also remain unaware of available financial products or lack the digital skills needed to access them.
- Women make up the majority of young entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan, representing 55.4% of all business owners under the age of 35.
Program overview
Beksar is supporting micro and small businesses in Kazakhstan with retail automation, digital financial services, and data-driven tools to help them make smarter decisions and become more efficient and resilient. Its comprehensive retail management platform is designed to digitize daily operations for small retailers, from automating inventory tracking to monitoring sales and generating financial reports.
By integrating with local financial institutions, the platform also provides small retailers with access to short-term financing options, supporting them to overcome common barriers to accessing credit.
With support from Mastercard Strive, Beksar is leveraging real-time business data to enable credit scoring and underwriting for small businesses that often lack formal financial records, especially women-led businesses. This embedded finance model unlocks working capital by creating more inclusive credit offerings that meet small business financial needs, while also reducing their operational burdens.
This effort will expand financial inclusion and bring more small businesses into the digital economy, supporting Kazakhstan’s national digitalization strategy and addressing critical gaps for small businesses—many of whom still rely on cash transactions and lack access to digital sales channels.
Beksar has already digitized over 4,000 retail businesses in Kazakhstan and is scaling its impact through a franchise model that expands access to digital tools across the country. With a goal to reach 20,000 small businesses—at least 60% of them women-owned—Accion will support Beksar to strengthen its digital infrastructure and enhance its platform to integrate more easily with other solutions and offer a broader suite of services to small businesses.
Our goal
Expand financial inclusion and digitalization
For micro and small retailers in Kazakhstan
By the numbers
Implementation partners
Delivering impact where it matters most
Implementation partners work directly with small businesses to design and deliver practical, digital-first solutions. Through localized expertise and hands-on support, they help entrepreneurs adopt tools, strengthen operations, improve access to financial services, and expand into digital markets. These partners translate strategy into action — meeting small businesses where they are and equipping them with the capabilities they need to grow, adapt, and thrive in a rapidly changing economy.
Scale partners
Expanding Impact, Accelerating Growth
Scale partners amplify proven solutions by leveraging their platforms, networks, and technology to reach small businesses at scale. By embedding digital tools, financial services, and marketplace access into their ecosystems, they enable broader adoption and sustainable growth. These partners play a pivotal role in accelerating impact — helping ensure that innovative support models can reach more entrepreneurs, in more communities, more efficiently.
Become a partner
Interested in being a partner for change?
Together we can empower millions of small businesses globally with innovative digital solutions that boost resilience, growth, and inclusion. Your organization's expertise can help bring impactful programs to scale, deepen local reach, and create meaningful change in the small business ecosystem. Be part of a vibrant partner community driving real economic impact.
Maxat Bektibayev
BeksarWith Mastercard Strive’s support, Beksar is enhancing digital transformation for retail businesses in Kazakhstan. Our smart automation solutions empower entrepreneurs by optimizing operations, increasing efficiency, and driving growth. This partnership enables us to accelerate financial inclusion and bring cutting-edge retail technology to more businesses. We look forward to collaborating with Mastercard Strive to expand our impact.
