Training of IT specialists, export of information technologies, AI training: Government considers IT industry development issues
Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry Zhaslan Madiyev at the Government session reported on the ongoing work on the development of the IT-industry, primeminister.kz reports.
In particular, he reported that in 2024 the IT-industry of Kazakhstan continued its dynamic growth. The number of IT-companies reached 18 683. Growth of 16% over the last three years. Over the same period, the average monthly salary of IT-specialists increased by 54%. It reached 673 thousand tenge, reflecting the high demand for qualified staff and competitive labour conditions. Employment in the IT sector increased by 12 per cent. It reached 187 thousand people.
According to the Minister, the Astana Hub international technology park was launched in 2018. Today it confirms its role as a centre for the development of IT startups in Kazakhstan. The technopark has united more than 1.5 thousand participants. Among them 1102 Kazakhstani and 437 foreign companies. The total revenue of the participants totalled 1.2 trillion tenge. Growth of 31 times over the last five years. Export revenue for the three quarters of this year reached 143 billion tenge. Annual growth is already more than 10 times in four years. Thus, the minister noted, Astana Hub continues to strengthen its position as the leading technology park in the region.
At the same time, the development of regional hubs has become a key element of the innovation ecosystem. To date, there are 17 such platforms operating across the country. They actively promote the development of local startups and entrepreneurship. All programmes for the development of startups and the IT industry are available to regional IT hubs. It is planned to connect another hub in Petropavlovsk by the end of the year. Thus, regional hubs are becoming an important driver of IT industry development in Kazakhstan. This should contribute to the discovery of talents and creation of a strong innovation ecosystem, the Minister added.
Also, Kazakhstan has created a “Single Window” of the national innovation system. Most measures of state support for IT-specialists, innovators and scientific figures are displayed here. A mobile application is also available.
The portal ensures transparency and efficiency in the distribution of state support measures. Today it is used by more than half a million people annually. The portal can be said to have become a single window similar to EGOV.
In addition, conditions are being created to attract talented professionals from all over the world. The Expat Centre operates on the basis of MFCA. It serves as a single window for foreign specialists to receive state services.
Along with this, a special visa for IT-specialists – Digital Nomad Visa – has been launched in fulfilment of the Head of State’s instruction. It allows obtaining an electronic visa under simplified procedures.
Another programme Digital Nomad Residency is also being actively worked on. It simplifies the procedure for obtaining a residence permit online. It is planned to be launched next month.
In order to implement the Head of State’s instruction, the Tech Orda programme has been launched, which aims to train 20,000 IT specialists by 2025 by stimulating private IT schools. Over the last 3 years, about 82 thousand IT specialists have been trained. Private IT schools have trained more than 16 thousand specialists. Work in this direction is carried out within the framework of providing the labour market with qualified personnel.
Zhaslan Madiyev, by the way, cited successful stories of Tech Orda programme graduates, who from absolutely other industries were able to move to the IT sphere.
The Minister also noted that it is necessary to draw attention to the development of IT-industry of the world professional community.
From 3 to 5 September 2024 for the first time in Kazakhstan, Astana hosted the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Digital Inclusion and Transformation. The conference was attended by 186 delegates from more than 30 countries. The total number of participants exceeded 1,500. One of the key outcomes was the adoption of the Astana Ministerial Declaration, which defines further steps to accelerate digital transformation in the region.
From 15 to 20 September 2024, Kazakhstan hosted the ICPC – the largest student world championship in sports programming. This strengthened the country’s position as the IT hub of Central Asia. Out of 73,000 participants from 110 countries, 142 teams from 50 countries made it to the finals. The MUIT team entered the top 30 best teams in the world.
In addition, such significant events as the Digital Bridge International Forum and Digital Almaty have been organised since 2018. They annually attract more than 30 thousand participants.
Another important point is the export of IT services. Kazakhstan is showing rapid growth in this matter. In 2023, the volume of exports reached $529 million. In the first half of 2024, this figure was $306 million.
We are confidently moving towards reaching the mark of $1bn by 2026 according to the Head of State’s instruction. Today IT services from Kazakhstan are exported to 86 countries. This confirms the high demand for our digital solutions and our ability to compete at the global level,” the Minister said.
For example, Astana Hub together with Google for Startups annually conduct a 12-week accelerator programme Silkway Accelerator. Startup projects from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and other countries take part in the programme. The beginning of a long-term partnership between Astana Hub and Draper University within the Hero Training programme was laid.
The Silicon Valley Residency Programme and AlchemistX Accelerator accelerator programmes were also launched in order to successfully enter the US market. The programmes provide startups with access to leading experts and investors in Silicon Valley.
In addition, the international network is also expanding. Three international IT hubs are now successfully operating in the US, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. All these initiatives help attract talent and open new opportunities for Kazakhstani startups for international co-operation.
Digital developments in the field of GovTech are reaching the international level. In 2023-2024, exports totalled 1.36 billion tenge. Kazakhstan exports e-government solutions to countries such as Tajikistan, Togo, Sierra Leone. The main exported products are Smart Data Ukimet, Smart Bridge and GOV.KZ.
Kazakhstan is also the leader in the region in terms of the volume of venture capital deals. Last year alone they reached $80 million. Significant investments were attracted by companies such as CITIX, Hero’s Journey, Higgsfield AI and others. Some of these companies have already reached a valuation of $100 million. These achievements, said the Minister, confirm that Kazakhstan is becoming a key centre of innovation in the region.
In order to fulfil the Head of State’s instruction, work is underway to open an Artificial Intelligence Centre in Astana. The Centre’s mission is to contribute to the AI transformation of Kazakhstan by attracting talent from across the region. It is planned to train thousands of specialists, hundreds of startups and dozens of research projects in the field of AI every year.
Separately, the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry is proposing a comprehensive approach to training the population in AI technology.
We plan to train 1 million people within five years. Namely 500 thousand schoolchildren, 300 thousand students, 90 thousand civil servants, 80 thousand entrepreneurs and 30 thousand other categories of population. We are currently working on launching educational projects, including the TUMO creative technologies centre for schoolchildren. Also in October this year we opened the first in the region artificial intelligence school TomorrowSchool to train specialists in the field of AI,” Zhaslan Madiyev said.
All these initiatives, he said, will help develop the country’s human capital, identify talents and promote the development of the IT industry.
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