In his Address to the nation titled "Fair Kazakhstan: Law and Order, Economic Growth, Public Optimism," the head of state emphasized the importance of enhancing the results achieved in the field of digitalization. It is particularly crucial to intensify efforts in implementing artificial intelligence technologies within the "Electronic Government" platform.
As of now, according to UN assessments, Kazakhstan is showing progress in digitalization. The country ranks 24th among 193 nations and is also among the top 10 leaders in the online services index. For instance, the accessibility of government services via the internet has reached 92%.
Furthermore, biometric identification services and QR signatures are being implemented, significantly simplifying the process of obtaining electronic services. In 2024, over 8 million signatures were executed using QR codes, and more than 18 million identifications were conducted through the Digital ID system.
The process of improving and modernizing the "Electronic Government" platform is continuous and is currently in an active phase of transitioning to its third version. The new eGov will be significantly more stable and user-friendly, particularly through the application of AI technologies.
Kazakhstan has begun sharing its advanced solutions in electronic government with countries such as Tajikistan, Togo, and Sierra Leone.
Similar services are being developed for businesses, providing a full cycle of support—from registration to dissolution of companies.
Innovations in the IT Sector
In 2024, Kazakhstan's IT sector demonstrated dynamic growth. The number of IT companies reached 18,683, marking a 16% increase over the past three years. For example, the international technology park "Astana Hub" is operational in the country. Today, it confirms its role as a center for the development of IT startups in Kazakhstan, uniting more than 1,500 participants, including 1,102 local and 437 foreign companies. The total revenue of participants amounted to 1.2 trillion tenge, which is a 31-fold increase over the past five years. This year's export revenue exceeded 140 billion tenge, with annual growth of more than 10 times over four years. Thus, "Astana Hub" continues to strengthen its position as the leading tech park in the region.
A key element of the innovative ecosystem has been the development of regional hubs. Currently, there are 18 such platforms operating across the country. They actively promote the development of local startups and entrepreneurship. All programs aimed at developing startups and the IT industry are accessible to regional IT hubs. Consequently, these regional hubs are becoming important drivers of the IT industry’s growth in Kazakhstan, fostering talent development and creating a robust innovative ecosystem.
To fully unlock the potential of the IT sector in Kazakhstan, a "Single Window" of the national innovation system has been established, consolidating most of the state support measures for IT specialists, innovators, and researchers. The portal ensures transparency and efficiency in the allocation of state support measures, currently serving over half a million users annually. The portal has effectively become a single window analogous to EGOV.
Additionally, conditions are being created to attract talented professionals from around the world. An Expat Center operates at the Astana International Financial Centre and serves as a single window for foreign specialists to access government services.
IT Services Export
Kazakhstan's export of IT services is experiencing rapid growth. In 2023, its volume reached $529 million, and in the first half of 2024, this figure surpassed $305 million. This indicates a confident execution of the President's directive to increase IT service exports to $1 billion by 2026.
To achieve this, various acceleration programs are being conducted in Kazakhstan, attracting leading experts and investors, thereby facilitating the entry of commercial products into foreign markets.
Moreover, the international network is expanding. Currently, three overseas IT hubs are successfully operating in the USA, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore. All these initiatives help attract talent and open new opportunities for Kazakhstani startups for international collaboration.
Kazakhstan is already a leader in the region regarding the volume of venture deals. Significant investments have been attracted by companies such as CITIX, Hero’s Journey, Higgsfield AI, and others. Some of these companies have already reached valuations of $100 million. Essentially, Kazakhstan is becoming a key innovation hub in the region.
Today, IT services from Kazakhstan are exported to 86 countries, confirming the high demand and the ability of domestic companies to compete successfully on a global scale. Key export destinations include Russia, Ireland, Mexico, the USA, and Singapore.
Training IT Specialists
The average monthly salary of IT specialists in 2024 increased by 54%, reaching 673,000 tenge, reflecting the high demand for qualified personnel and competitive working conditions. Employment in the IT sector has grown by 12% to 187,000 people.
To implement the President's directive, the Tech Orda program has been launched, aimed at training 20,000 IT specialists by 2025 through the stimulation of private IT schools. Private IT schools have trained over 16,000 experts in information technology. Work in this direction is being carried out to ensure a skilled workforce in the labor market. Notably, there are many success stories of graduates from the Tech Orda program who transitioned into the IT sector from entirely different fields.
Development of Artificial Intelligence
In the Address to the nation titled "Fair Kazakhstan: Law and Order, Economic Growth, Public Optimism," the head of state highlighted the importance of implementing artificial intelligence and digital technologies for sustainable development. In this regard, the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry has implemented several important initiatives:
- A Committee on AI has been established to coordinate the development of the sector;
- The AI Development Concept for 2024–2029 has been approved;
- A draft AI Law has been developed to ensure the necessary legal framework for further growth.
By the President's directive, work is underway to open an Artificial Intelligence Center in Astana. The mission of the Center is to facilitate Kazakhstan's AI transformation through the attraction of talents 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 annually.
Additionally, educational projects are planned, including the TUMO Creative Technology Center for school students. Also, in October of this year, the first AI school in the region, TomorrowSchool, was opened to prepare specialists in the field of AI.
Moreover, at the President's directive, Kazakhstan is developing its own language model, KazLLM. It is intended to serve as the foundation for various technological solutions developed by Kazakhstani companies. This will reduce dependence on foreign technologies, which is particularly important for protecting national interests, personal data, and ensuring the country's ideological independence. The application of a domestic language model will contribute to the development of the internal IT services market. Currently, training of the model is actively ongoing on the collected 148 billion tokens.
Notably, products based on AI are already being created utilizing this model. These include AI assistants in areas such as eGov, E-otinish, and legal assistance.