• Following your participation as a country partner at the Doers Summit in Limassol, how would you characterise the current appetite among European investors and entrepreneurs for engagement with the Central Asian tech ecosystem?

The appetite is real and it is growing. In Limassol, people were asking specific questions: about registration timelines, about tax structures, about what it actually takes to operate from Kazakhstan. That is a different quality of interest than we saw even two years ago. Central Asia is no longer a blank space on the map for serious founders and investors. It is becoming a deliberate choice.

Kazakhstan sits at the intersection of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. We have over 2,200 companies in the Astana Hub ecosystem, direct access to markets that others find difficult to enter, and a zero-tax regime that is competitive with anything in the region. I think what Limassol confirmed for our team is that the conversation has shifted from “why Kazakhstan” to “how do we get started”.

  • Kazakhstan is increasingly positioning itself as a strategic bridge between East and West, so how does Astana Hub’s involvement in events like this summit in Cyprus serve your broader goals of ecosystem diplomacy and institutional legitimacy?

Ecosystem diplomacy is a term I find genuinely useful. What we do at Astana Hub is not just regulatory or infrastructural. It is relational. When we show up at events like Doers Summit, we are not there to hand out brochures. We are there to build the kind of trust that precedes real partnerships.

Kazakhstan has built a reputation as an open and reliable partner for international business. That neutrality is a strategic asset, and events like this one in Cyprus allow us to demonstrate it in person. Cyprus itself is interesting to us because it is a country that understands the value of being a bridge. The parallels are obvious. What we want European partners to understand is that Kazakhstan is open, stable, and ready. We are not asking anyone to take a leap of faith. We are inviting them to come and see it for themselves.

  • With Astana Hub now recognised as the top startup ecosystem in Central Asia, what specific elements of your model are most attractive to European companies looking to expand into your region?

Three things come up consistently in our conversations with European companies. The first is speed. We can register a company in seven days, open a bank account through a single window, and get a team of foreign specialists their individual identification numbers and legal status within a few weeks. For a European founder used to months of administrative process, this is remarkable.

We have also introduced dedicated tools that simplify relocation and business operations for global talent. Through the Digital Nomad Visa and Digital Nomad Residency programmes, foreign entrepreneurs and IT professionals can relocate to Kazakhstan and work legally with minimal bureaucracy.

In addition, Kazakhstan launched its e-Residency programme, which provides foreign citizens with a digital identity, an Individual Identification Number (IIN), a Digital Identity Card, a local eSIM, access to banking services, and the ability to access digital government and business services remotely. This allows entrepreneurs to establish and manage their presence in Kazakhstan without the need for a constant physical presence.

The second is cost. Operating from Kazakhstan costs a fraction of what it costs in Dubai, Singapore, or Western Europe. That matters enormously for companies that are scaling and watching their burn rate carefully.

The third is the access we provide. Through Astana Hub, companies immediately connect with our network of 2,200 participant companies, our Silkway Accelerator programme, our infrastructure at alem.cloud, and our partnerships in China, the UAE, Malaysia and the US. It is not just a location. It is an ecosystem. European companies are not just expanding into Kazakhstan. They are gaining a platform for the entire region.

  • You brought a delegation of startups to Limassol, so could you introduce these companies and explain why they were selected to represent the current innovative spirit of Kazakhstan on this international stage?

At Kazakhstan’s pavilion, Astana Hub presented three promising startups. All three companies are actively exploring opportunities to expand into European markets and were selected based on the strength of their products, international growth potential, and readiness to engage with global investors and partners.

Best Vision is an AI-powered ecosystem for industrial safety, helping companies monitor workplace conditions, prevent incidents, and analyse operational events in real time.

Algebras AI is a platform that automates project management through AI agents, increasing team productivity and streamlining business processes.

Resti is an all-in-one platform for restaurant chain management, enabling businesses to efficiently manage operations, finances, and customer interactions across multiple locations.

By bringing these companies to the Doers Summit in Cyprus, we aimed to introduce international stakeholders to high-potential startups that are building globally scalable solutions while contributing to the growing reputation of Kazakhstan as a regional innovation hub.

  • Regarding these specific startups, what were their primary objectives during the summit, and have you seen any tangible progress in terms of partnerships or potential investment leads since the event concluded?

The objectives were concrete: investor conversations, partnership introductions, and direct exposure to the European founder community. I am pleased to say the conversations were substantive. We have a number of follow-ups in progress, including introductions to investors and exploratory partnership discussions.

I want to be honest: not everything converts immediately. Building trust across geographies takes time. But the quality of the interactions in Limassol was significantly higher than what we might have expected. People were prepared, they had done their research, and they were engaging with our startups seriously. That is what we came for, and that is what we got.

  • Your resident companies benefit from a highly favourable tax regime until 2029, but beyond these fiscal incentives, how does Astana Hub support these founders in scaling their operations to compete in global markets?

The tax regime gets attention because the numbers are striking. Zero corporate tax, zero VAT, zero personal income tax until 2029. But frankly, if that were the only thing we offered, we would not have attracted more than 2,200 companies.

What keeps people here is the ecosystem. Our Silkway Accelerator runs in a unique partnership with Google. We have placed 105 startups through seven cohorts, with 47.7 million dollars in investment raised. As part of our partnership with Google for Startups, startups have the opportunity to receive Google Cloud credits from $20,000 to $200,000.

We have alem.cloud, the most powerful supercomputer in Central Asia, available to our companies on an IaaS basis. We have representation in Shanghai, Dubai, and Silicon Valley. We run over 2,900 events per year.

And we provide something that money cannot directly buy: community. When founders join Astana Hub, they are joining a network of people who are building seriously. That context accelerates everything.

  • The Silkway Accelerator has seen impressive results in terms of capital raised, so what are the key challenges you still face when trying to attract international venture capital to startups based in Central Eurasia?

I will be direct. The biggest challenge is perception, not reality. International venture capital still carries assumptions about Central Asia that our companies outgrew years ago. Investors who have not visited, who have not sat in our offices, who have not met our founders in person, often underestimate what is here.

The second challenge is connectivity. Building relationships with tier-one VCs takes time and proximity, and we are geographically distant from the major hubs. That is exactly why we opened international offices and why we bring delegations to events like Doers Summit. We are reducing that distance, one conversation at a time.

The third challenge is exits. Investors want to see clear paths to liquidity, and the regional exit ecosystem is still maturing. We are working on that actively, including through our partnerships with global accelerators and corporate partners. The trajectory is clear. The gap is closing.

  • Given that Kazakhstan is leading the region with a score significantly higher than the next-ranked city, how do you manage the responsibility of driving technological modernisation across the entire Central Asian territory?

Kazakhstan leading the region is not something we take lightly, and it is certainly not something we want to use to create distance from our neighbours. The way I see it, a stronger Central Asian tech ecosystem benefits everyone in the region, including Kazakhstan.

So we actively share knowledge. We run programmes across 20 regional hubs inside Kazakhstan, and we engage with ecosystems in neighbouring countries. When Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan builds capability, that expands the talent pool, the market, and the overall credibility of the region.

In partnership with IT Park Uzbekistan, we conducted a batch of the Market Entry Programme aimed at supporting Uzbek startups in entering and scaling in the Kazakhstan market. A total of 10 startups were selected for the programme. Participants received infrastructure support, coordination, promotional assistance, and ongoing guidance to help accelerate their market expansion efforts.

We want to contribute to the growth of the entire region, not focus only on our own success. That is the only model that works at the scale we are aiming for.

  • Looking at the broader geopolitical climate, how do you ensure that your focus on international integration remains resilient in the face of shifting global economic conditions?

Kazakhstan has always pursued an open and balanced approach to international cooperation. For Astana Hub, resilience comes from diversification. We work with partners across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North America, which allows our ecosystem to remain connected to multiple markets and innovation centres.

We also focus on building long-term institutional partnerships with accelerators, technology companies, universities, and investors. These relationships are less vulnerable to short-term economic fluctuations and help create sustainable opportunities for our startups.

Kazakhstan’s strategic location, stable business environment, and commitment to international collaboration make it a natural platform for companies looking to expand across regions. In a rapidly changing global landscape, flexibility and openness are among our strongest advantages.

  • Looking ahead to the remainder of 2026, what are the most critical milestones for Astana Hub as you aim to further strengthen your ties with European tech communities and institutional partners?

We have several milestones I am focused on. The first is the continued rollout of our Trusted Kazakhstan programme, one of our key initiatives for attracting international IT talent and technology companies. We have a target of 10 major international companies and 500 top specialists by the end of the year, and we are building the full infrastructure to support them, from residency and banking to housing and schools for their families.

The second is our Digital Bridge forum, which brings over 60,000 participants annually and is becoming a genuinely global event. We want European founders and investors to see it as a must-attend destination, not just a regional event.

The third is deepening our partnership pipeline with international institutions, accelerators, and corporate innovation programmes. Doers Summit was one step. There will be many more.

What I want European partners to take away from everything we are doing is simple: Kazakhstan is open, Kazakhstan is ready, and the best time to engage with us is now.