CAREC Program

What CAREC Program does

The Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program is a multilateral regional economic cooperation platform established in 2000 and hosted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila, Philippines. It brings together 11 member countries — Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, People's Republic of China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan — to coordinate regional policy, finance, and project development across five operational clusters: Economic and Financial Stability; Trade, Tourism, and Economic Corridors; Infrastructure and Economic Connectivity; Agriculture and Water; and Human Development, with Climate, Gender, and Digital as cross-cutting themes.

CAREC's core "product" is a framework rather than a software platform: it sets strategic direction (CAREC 2030 framework), facilitates investment mobilization through partnerships with ADB, AIIB, EBRD, IMF, IsDB, UNDP, and the World Bank, and operates supporting mechanisms including the CAREC Institute (Urumqi, PRC) for knowledge and capacity building, the CAREC Federation of Carrier and Forwarder Associations (CFCFA) for private-sector engagement, and a Corridor Performance Measurement and Monitoring (CPMM) system. As of December 2025, the program has mobilized $57.9 billion across 272+ projects in transport, trade, and energy, delivered infrastructure including 9,964 km of highways, 1,995 km of new railways, and 1,697 km of transmission lines.

The business model is non-commercial. CAREC is a free partnership initiative: there are no products to purchase, no pricing model, and no revenue-generating activity. Operations are funded through development partner institutions and member government contributions, with ADB serving as Secretariat. Governance runs through Ministerial Conferences, Senior Officials' Meetings, sector coordinating committees, expert groups, and National Focal Points, supplemented by annual events, business forums, and a public website offering publications, news, newsletters, and e-learning content in English and Russian.

Name

CAREC Program

Legal name

Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program

Website

https://carecprogram.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

CAREC Program is a multilateral regional economic cooperation platform of 11 Central Asian, Caucasus, and adjacent member countries, hosted by the Asian Development Bank, that coordinates policy and mobilizes development finance for transport, trade, energy, and economic corridor projects across the region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Development Partner Financing: CAREC functions as a partnership mechanism where multilateral development institutions (ADB, AIIB, EBRD, IMF, IsDB, UNDP, World Bank) provide financing for regional projects in transport, trade, energy, and economic corridors. ADB serves as the CAREC Secretariat.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CAREC (Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation) Program is a multilateral regional cooperation framework uniting 11 member countries in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and surrounding regions to promote economic cooperation. It facilitates policy coordination, project development, and knowledge sharing across five operational clusters (Economic and Financial Stability; Trade, Tourism, and Economic Corridors; Infrastructure and Economic Connectivity; Agriculture and Water; Human Development) and three cross-cutting themes (Climate Change, Gender, Digital/ICT). The program channels development partner financing into transport corridors, energy infrastructure, and trade facilitation projects.

Product overview

The CAREC Program is a partnership platform consisting of five operational clusters and three cross-cutting themes. The program does not offer a unified software product or modular software platform. Rather, it provides a framework for regional economic cooperation encompassing: Economic and Financial Stability (capital markets, fiscal management, sustainable finance); Trade, Tourism, and Economic Corridors (trade facilitation, customs cooperation, tourism promotion, economic corridor development); Infrastructure and Economic Connectivity (transport, energy); Agriculture and Water; and Human Development (health). Cross-cutting themes include Climate Change, Gender, and Information and Communication Technology/Digital. Key publications include CAREC 2030 Strategic Framework, CAREC Transport Strategy 2030, CAREC Energy Strategy 2030, and CAREC Integrated Trade Agenda 2030. The program also supports the CAREC Institute as a knowledge hub and the CAREC Federation of Carrier and Forwarder Associations (CFCFA) for private sector engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CAREC Institute: Knowledge support arm of CAREC Program providing research, capacity building, and knowledge sharing services
• CAREC Federation of Carrier and Forwarder Associations (CFCFA)
• CAREC 2030

Products and services

• CAREC Project Portfolio
• CAREC Corridor Performance Measurement and Monitoring (CPMM)
• CAREC Institute
• CAREC Federation of Carrier and Forwarder Associations (CFCFA)
• CAREC Development Partners Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• $57.9 billion invested in transport, trade, and energy projects as of December 2025
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• CAREC InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015CAREC Institute is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Urumqi, Xinjiang PRC, dedicated to knowledge generation, capacity building, and knowledge sharing in the CAREC region. Jointly owned by 11 member countries.
• CAREC Federation of Carrier and Forwarder Associations (CFCFA)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Private sector federation established to facilitate cross-border transport data sharing and engage private companies in CAREC corridor performance monitoring through the CPMM program.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC): Forum of major donor countries coordinating development finance. Relevant as a peer in the broader development cooperation ecosystem in which CAREC operates, though DAC is a donor coordination forum rather than a regional cooperation program.
• Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB): China-led multilateral development bank and a core financial partner of CAREC. Comparable as a peer within the regional development finance ecosystem, with overlapping project portfolios in CAREC countries, particularly in transport corridors and digital infrastructure.

Broad incumbents

• SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation): Eight-member regional intergovernmental organization in South Asia. Structurally analogous as a multilateral regional cooperation framework with a secretariat, summit cycle, and sector committees — though SAARC has been less operationally active than CAREC.
• Pacific Islands Forum (PIF): Eighteen-member regional cooperation organization in the Pacific. Structurally comparable as a multilateral intergovernmental body with a secretariat, leaders' summit, and sector-specific initiatives focused on regional development and connectivity challenges.
• ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations): Ten-member regional intergovernmental organization promoting economic, political, and security cooperation in Southeast Asia. Comparable as a multilateral cooperation framework with shared secretariat functions, ministerial summits, and sector-specific working bodies, though ASEAN operates at significantly larger scale and broader scope.
• Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO): Eurasian multilateral organization covering several CAREC member states plus Russia, India, and others. Overlaps with CAREC's geographic footprint and objectives around regional economic and security cooperation, though SCO is broader in mandate and more politically oriented.
• African Union (AU): Continental union of 55 African member states promoting regional integration, infrastructure, and trade. Comparable in structure as a large multilateral regional cooperation body with multiple sector clusters and development partner engagement, though at much greater geographic and political scale.

Regional players

• Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU): Russia-led economic union of five post-Soviet states including Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz Republic (CAREC members). Overlaps with CAREC on trade facilitation and economic corridor objectives in the Central Asian space, with a more formalized customs union model.
• BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation): Seven-member regional cooperation organization bridging South and Southeast Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Comparable as a multilateral cooperation framework with sector-focused working groups and a focus on connectivity — partially overlaps with CAREC's South Asian corridors.

Direct peers

• Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS): ADB-hosted regional economic cooperation program covering six Mekong countries. Direct structural parallel to CAREC: same secretariat model (ADB), similar corridor-based approach, similar transport/trade/energy cluster priorities, similar governance through ministerial meetings and sector committees.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/carecprogram
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/carecprogram
• Facebookfacebook.com/CARECProgram
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carecprogram

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CAREC Program