In August 2026, Kazakhstan will launch the preferential mortgage program "Umai" for working women. The project is expected to receive 45 billion tenge, with initial funds already allocated, reports infohub.kz.
The program is operated by Otbasy Bank. The exact interest rate has not yet been announced, but experts estimate it will be around 15% in the early years, then decrease to 3.5–5%. The maximum loan amount is 50 million tenge, with a term of up to 25 years. Both primary and secondary housing can be purchased, but the home must not have been built before 2016. The down payment is 20% in major cities and 15% in other regions.
Women aged 18 to 65 inclusive are eligible, regardless of marital status. A steady income and pension contributions over the last six months are required. Whether they already own a home does not affect eligibility. Borrowers can bring up to two co-borrowers and use pension savings (their own or those of close relatives) for the down payment.
Applications will be selected based on a point system: the more funds deposited into a housing savings account at Otbasy Bank, the higher the deposit reward and the more points awarded. Therefore, potential participants are advised to open an account now.
The program is financed by the Asian Development Bank, which allocated 90 billion tenge divided between the women's mortgage and the "green" mortgage. Notably, Kazakhstan earlier decided against tightening lending conditions and reducing the maximum mortgage rate to 20%; instead, a differentiated maximum annual effective rate was introduced, depending on the down payment size.