Rural Credit Partnerships in Kazakhstan
Project: Regional Development of SMEs in Aktobe, Kazakhstan.
Printed: 2005

Rural Credit Partnerships movement has undergone considerable development during the last years and is actively supported by the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan.  The ABG project was actively involved in support of RCP in Aktobe oblast and financed elaboration of the manual with the overall objective to summarise the experience already accumulated in Kazakhstan. The manual thus describe wide range of issues related to establishment, registration and management of Rural Credit Partnerships in the existing legislation framework.  It is aimed at the management of existing Partnerships as well as at the groups of rural population indenting to establish the new ones. The manual is elaborated in close cooperation with RCPs association MIRAZ and Agrarian Credit Corporation which supports development of credit cooperation throughout Kazakhstan.

Business Ideas Manual
Project: Regional Development of SMEs in Aktobe, Kazakhstan.
Printed: 2005

The objective of the manual is to stimulate development of small enterprises in rural areas of Aktobe oblast by presenting the business ideas which proved to be successful. The team of experts has analysed small business ideas from various environments and selected those which are most appropriate for the conditions of the rural areas of Aktobe region. The ideas are presented in a unified format providing brief background, pre-conditions and basic financial calculations. Considerable part of the ideas refers to agriculture and development of service sector in rural areas. Efforts have been made to consider the priorities set by the Aktobe regional administration. The manual does not provide ready solutions but is aimed to stimulated business thinking of rural people and inspire search for market opportunities in their own environment. It also proved to be a valuable tool for business consultants of the region. The manual is available in Russian and Kazakh languages.

Small Business Financing
Project: Regional Development of SMEs in Aktobe, Kazakhstan.
Printed: 2004

The main objective of this manual is to give an overview of the general issues related to efficient financing of a small enterprise which is one of the increasingly important topics for the SMEs in Kazakhstan.   In clear and understandable way, the manual provides description of the financial flows and financing needs of a small enterprise. The forms of financing are presented and well compared, the tools to evaluate the efficiency of planned investments are given as well . An entrepreneur is given an opportunity to summarise and improve his understanding of the investment mechanisms, risks and opportunities which are arising from attraction of financial recourses from outside.  The last chapter of the manual gives the basics of financial planning considering the peculiarities of a small enterprise. The manual was efficiently used during the project’s numerous trainings and individual consultations.

How to create a machinery ring
Project: Regional Development of SMEs in Aktobe, Kazakhstan. 
Printed: 2004

The objective behind this manual is to present the concept of machinery ring which is a form of farmers’ cooperation aimed at multi-farm use of agricultural machinery. Lack of agricultural machinery is one of the acute problems faced by individual farms in Kazakhstan, and the concept of machinery rings is regarded as highly potential way to overcome this lack and to allow cost effective use of the available machinery. The manual provides important information of the idea itself; machinery costs calculations, relevant legal and financial issues. As the manual was an integral part of the project team’s practical work, it gives very detailed description of the possible forms of machinery rings, decision making process and provides valuable tips on the legal forms possible under the legislation of Kazakhstan, as well as some taxation issues. In the annex, draft examples of contracts and machinery ring’s statutes are presented. The manual was successfully used in the work with farmers which resulted in establishment of 6 machinery rings in Aktobe oblast.

Poverty Reduction Program Monitoring and Evaluation Manual
Project: Capacity Building for National and Local Government on Implementation of Poverty Reduction Programme, Kazakhstan.
Printed: 2004

This manual describes the poverty monitoring action plan designed to support and guide the Poverty Reduction Programme in the Republic of Kazakhstan.  The implementation of this action plan will ensure that the relevant data are collected, analyzed and disseminated.  It will allow the policymakers and other stakeholders, both at the national and the regional levels, to evaluate the progress and to modify the poverty reduction program as appropriate.

The Manual addresses different dimensions of PRP monitoring, including: 

• Tracking progress in achieving the poverty reduction goals;
• Validating the strategy chosen by the national and regional governments;
• Mobilizing and sustaining public support for the goals and the strategy;
• Identifying reasons for success or failure, allowing effective management of the strategy and improvements to be made while programs are in progress;
• Enhancing the involvement of civil society and non-governmental actors in poverty reduction strategy;
• Increasing accountability in the use of resources, generating transparency; and
• Incorporating quality management into the poverty reduction strategy.

How to apply for the APPA credit
Project: Agricultural Post-privatisation Assistance, Kazakhstan.
Printed: 2001

The manual gives a short overview on all topics related to the project. Important parts are the instructions how to apply for an APPA loan with detailed action plan. Elaboration of a farm development plan and a business plan are presented and practical recommendations how to get help from agricultural advisors  are given.

Guidelines for Project Summary Sheet Elaboration
Project: Agricultural Post-privatisation Assistance, Kazakhstan.
Printed: 2000-2001

The Guidelines have been elaborated by the Technical Assistance Banking Expert to help credit officers of participating banks to prepare project summary sheets (PSS) as a pre-requisite for credit approval by the World Bank. The PSS intends to provide a general overview of the loan project, its rationale and its financial viability. It is a summarised format, typically presenting the main elements of the business plan. The PSS must give  a general understanding of the company and entrepreneur, explaining what the loan is for and who are the persons behind the project, why the project is proposed to the World Bank for financing, and how the loan will be paid back. The Guidelines were distributed among participating banks and were widely used during the training.

Guidelines for Short Project Summary Sheet Elaboration
Project: Agricultural Post-privatisation Assistance, Kazakhstan.
Printed: 2001

Short Project Summary Sheet is a special simplified format for review of the small loans up to USD 50 000 to be financed under APPA Programme. 

Guidelines for Loan Evaluation
Project: Agricultural Post-privatisation Assistance, Kazakhstan.
Printed: 2002

These guidelines are particularly aimed at the monitoring effort of the project executing agencies, Ministry o Agriculture / Group of Consultants. The guidelines offer checklists of aspects to evaluate when reviewing projects financed under the World Bank credit programme. The guidelines draw upon the experiences gained during the project implementation since 1998.

The Guide has been published as a part of efforts made by the Ministry of Agriculture to attract foreign investments to the agricultural sector of the Republic. It gives a background information about the country, profound overview of the agricultural sector and describes the investment climate including legal framework for investors, state regulations of  taxation and customs.

Manual "How to Start and Register a Rural Credit and Saving Co-operative" Project: Rural Cooperative Credit and Pilot Demonstration, Russia
Printed: 2001

As farmers, small entrepreneurs and owners of household plots have no access to financial resources at present, a new form of financial-credit institution, namely rural savings and credit co-operatives (agricultural consumer credit cooperatives) can provide a solution to this problem, and they start to get introduced in rural areas. Their activities include mobilisation of savings of members of the co-operative, attraction of loan capital and the use of these funds to grant loans to members of the co-operative, foremostly for production purposes.

The aim of this manual is to assist people involved in the establishment of rural credit co-operatives to find answers to the following questions:

1. What should be done to begin with?

2. What events must be held while establishing a co-operative?

3. How to correctly prepare documents for registration?

Before answering these questions the following should be defined: what a rural savings and credit co-operative (RSCC) is, what its activities are, what is the difference with other financial structures, commercial banks in particular, and who can be member of a rural credit co-operative.

Manual "Management of Rural Credit and Savings Cooperatives"
Project: Rural Cooperative Credit and Pilot Demonstration, Russia
Printed: 2001

This manual is written for both the members and managers of RSCCs to use as an information source on how a  co-operative can be organised and managed effectively. The manual may also be useful as a reference guide for member and management training activities.

This manual is intentionally forward-looking, introducing concepts and practices that many credit co-operatives may not yet be able to implement. However, given the rapid pace of co-operative development and the need for members and leaders to share a common vision of how their organisations can grow and thrive, this manual provides the directions and details required to meet these evolving needs.

Manual "Savings Mobilisation"
Project: Rural Cooperative Credit and Pilot Demonstration, Russia
Printed: 2001

The manual has been elaborated on the basis of  the materials which have been used during the Saving Mobilisation seminars. According to the questionnaire delivered at the opening of the seminar, none of the participants had experience and knowledge to work with savings. Only few of them had basic ideas about benefits from savings services for their cooperative and interest rates. Seminar give the participants information about various savings services, characteristics of the savings products that can be offered by the credit cooperatives as well as correlation between savings and credit resources. 

Thus the manual concentrated on the weakest points such as:

1. how to rollout the savings products

2. designing appropriate savings products.

Manual "Credit Securing in Rural Savings and Credit Cooperatives"
Project: Rural Cooperative Credit and Pilot Demonstration, Russia
Printed: 2001

This manual is devoted to the securities for credits (loans) that a credit and saving co-operative issues to its members. The manual mainly explains methods of securities’ checking and valuation. The manual helps to determine the market value of a security and deals with principal issues related to credit provision.

First of all, the manual describes conditions  that a potential borrower has to fulfill when they want to obtain a loan. Then we pass to discussion of the legal basis for credit provision. Initially we consider the verification of a credit’s assignment and the financial planning which is necessary to determine the required amount of credit.

Besides that, the main principles, standard indices for valuation of securities and case studies are presented in the manual. Issues of securities’ realization in case when a borrower is unable to serve obligations set forth in his/her loan agreement are dealt in the final part of this manual. The manual has been designed for shareholders of credit co-operatives, for borrowers and, primarily, for those who make decisions on credit commitment in a credit co-operative.

Manual "Accounting and Taxation in Rural Credit and Savings Co-operatives" 
Project: Rural Cooperative Credit and Pilot Demonstration, Russia
Printed: 2001

Accounting of credit cooperatives should be performed according to the common rules and procedures defined by the current legislation. At the same time, accounting in credit co-operatives has its peculiarities which are conditioned by the following factors: a) by the character of their activities - they are non-commercial organisations, b) by their legal status - they are consumer co-operatives, c) by the type of activities – they are savings and credit co-operatives that work in the sphere of financial relationships.

The form, methods, contents and ways of accounting depend on the accountant. Good accounting is the basis of proper management and sustainable development of a co-operative. Thus this manual is another publication aiming at assisting the Rural Savings and Credit Co-operatives by providing them with guidelines in the field of accounting and taxation issues which are both areas of great importance for the smooth and proper development of a RSCC, and which are often considered as problem areas.

This manual should not be regarded as a textbook on accounting, but as a practical guideline for organisation of accounting in a RSCCs  as it takes into account the specific character of their activities. 

Chapter one tries to highlight the most important issues and objectives of rural development in general as well as on the EU and Latvian level. Chapter two, dealing with this subject is concluded with the role of European institutions on this matter. . Chapter three deals with the various structural funds and other resources available for the implementation of rural development plans in Latvia. The fourth chapter gives a description of the methodology on national, regional and local level and explains how to involve the local communities in the preparation and implementation of action plans.