Kazakh PM discusses Venture Capital Fund launch with international and Kazakhstani experts
Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov held a meeting with leading experts in venture capital financing, representatives of Kazakhstan's business community and international partners, El.kz cites primeminister.kz.
The central topic of discussion was the creation of the Venture Capital Fund aimed at attracting global capital, developing the startup ecosystem and strengthening Kazakhstan's position as a regional centre of technology and innovation.
Invited to the dialogue, Ilya Strebulaev, professor at Stanford University and a recognized expert on venture investments, Malika Aubakirova, partner at Andreessen Horowitz, Galym Imanbaev, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Anna Fokina, investment director at DCVC, shared their own experience in developing innovations. The experts noted that in order to achieve significant progress, it is important for Kazakhstan to strengthen co-operation with the world's leading venture capital funds, which will provide access to advanced technologies and best investment management practices. They emphasised that in order to attract global capital, it is necessary to strengthen the legal infrastructure and create conditions to support startups in the late stages of their development.
Zhaslan Madiyev, Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry, noted that Kazakhstan is already a leader in Central Asia, providing more than 70% of all venture capital deals in the region. Over the past 5 years, the volume of venture capital in the country has grown more than 6 times, reaching $ 80 million.
The creation of the fund marks a new stage in the development of the country's venture capital market, aimed at integrating Kazakhstan into the international ecosystem of investment and technology.
The Venture Capital Fund aims to attract $1bn of private investment in the medium term, which will be channelled into leading global, regional and Kazakhstani venture capital funds. This will ensure effective diversification, maximising access to global competencies and critical technologies needed to transform the economy. To date, applications have been collected from representatives of large Kazakhstani businesses for more than $100 million to form the start-up capital of the fund.
Special attention in the work of the fund will be paid to promising areas, including artificial intelligence, digital health and other key technology sectors. According to forecasts, by 2030 the global market of artificial intelligence will grow to $827 billion, which makes this area one of the priority areas for investment.
Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov emphasised that the creation of the Venture Capital Fund will not only open access to advanced technologies, but will also strengthen Kazakhstan's position as an international hub for startups and technologies.
"As President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted, we are building an economy based on knowledge and innovation. Today, the IT sector is actively developing in Kazakhstan, exports of digital services are increasing, and young specialists are becoming in demand both inside and outside the country. Our key task is to create conditions for retaining our own and attracting new talent, to support startups at all stages of their development and attract global competences to Kazakhstan," Olzhas Bektenov said.
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