18.09.2026

On September 15, a roundtable titled “Strategic Agenda for IT Business Development” was held in Astana. The main topic of the meeting was what changes are needed today for the further development of the IT business in Kazakhstan, and how the government, large businesses, and the professional community can interact in this process.

The meeting was headlined by the non-profit organization TechnoWomen. Aziza Shuzheyeva, Chair of the Board, identified the following key priorities: developing talent and corporate innovation, supporting homegrown technology solutions and scaling them first in the domestic market, establishing predictable rules for the industry, and creating a clearer system for evaluating the results of tech businesses.

“Today it is important for Kazakhstan to move from a model in which the success of the IT industry is measured by the number of events, trained specialists, or registered projects to a model in which we see concrete economic results: new companies, investment, sales, exports, jobs, and products that can compete in the global market,” noted Aziza Shuzheyeva.

The discussion was attended by deputies of the Kurultai of the Republic of Kazakhstan, experts from industry business associations, the Association of Investors of Kazakhstan, and the financial and IT communities.

Vice Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan (MDDIAI) Rostislav Konyashkin broadly supported the proposed theses on the need to create a common platform consolidating the positions of market participants, and suggested developing specific incentives to accelerate the digital transformation of real-sector companies.

“Digitalization is part of sustainable development. Companies that have undergone digital transformation typically have transparent corporate governance, well-established processes, and a tax culture. We need to think through ways to reward such companies and promote their stories,” noted Yuliya Yakupbayeva — Freelance Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister — Minister of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan on sustainable development, and Partner at the GPI Group of Companies.

Yuliya Yakupbayeva also proposed shifting the focus of storytelling from developer companies to specific case studies of domestic software implementation. Collecting these cases will likely require support from the MDDIAI.

One outcome of the meeting was the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the non-profit organization TechnoWomen and the Green Urban Association, under which the parties agreed to pool their expert, organizational, and informational resources to support IT startups and innovative projects, conduct educational and acceleration programs, promote technology solutions, scale them, and help them enter new markets.

Background:
The roundtable participants included representatives of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the International University of Information Technologies, BCC Hub, the “Digital Kazakhstan” Association, the Kazakhstan Association of IT Companies, and QazTrade.