Digitalization of Kazakhstan is a transformative journey to diversify the resource-driven economy, which is the largest in the Central Asian region. What is the core of this transformation? It is Astana Hub, a techno park created in 2018 to make changes happen in the country, stimulate innovation, promote IT startups and technology entrepreneurship. My paper examines the central role of Astana Hub in digital transformation in Kazakhstan and its role in IT industry, economic development, and competitiveness of the country. It also appreciates the development leadership that is characteristic of the government of Kazakhstan in facilitating these forces. Based on recent events, statistical data and global ranking, the article reflects on the contribution of Astana Hub and the “Digital Kazakhstan” program, showcasing its gratitude to the governmental contribution and Astana Hub, and reflecting on the achievements, difficulties and the perspectives of the future.
Being a country with very rich mineral resources, Kazakhstan has realized that it should diversify as well as modernize its economy so that it can be able to compete with the rest of the world. In 2017, the Kazakhstan government came up with the initiative of the large-scale program of digital Kazakhstan that is a strategic direction to digitalize the main spheres of the economy, intensify the ICT infrastructure and provide the enhancement of the technological innovation driving force in Kazakhstan. This vision has been anchored by the creation of an international techno park headquarters of IT startups known as Astana Hub. Astana Hub has been a key figure in fostering entrepreneurship and solving the issue of the lack of experienced IT specialists and making Kazakhstan a regional digital hub. The current article develops the research around the role of Astana Hub in digitalizing the country, its economic and social effects, and the flattering activity of the state in the advancement, mentioning the challenges and the possibilities of the advancement in the future.
Background
One of the leading trends seen by the government of Kazakhstan was the digitalization trend, which is evidenced by the introduction of the so-called program of the country called Digital Kazakhstan in 2017 by a presidential decree. This program put forward four main pillars including: digitization of the economic sector, creating ICT infrastructure, making improvements on e-government services and making progress on technological entrepreneurship. As of 2022, Kazakhstan has had an internet penetration of 92.9 percent, narrowing the urban-rural digital gap to 4 percent. In terms of digital infrastructure, the nation based on ICT Development Index stands 51st, and Network Readiness Index at 58th place as well indicating a consistent growth in the field throughout the years.
In 2024, Kazakhstan is developing a digital agenda through building artificial intelligence (AI), upgrading the communication infrastructure, and online commerce. The strategic plan of AI development in 2024-2029 by the government is to establish national AI platform, which will help develop innovation in all industries. More than 1,200 rural communities were connected to the internet with 3,700 government organizations getting access to high-speed internet to enhance the delivery of services and literacy in digital literacy. Such work has promoted Kazakhstan to become the top 30 most digitally developed nations in 2022, and 35th in the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Index by the year 2024. The government policy and investments are to be thanked to have laid solid ground as an emphasis on digital advancement.
Objectives
Currently, Astana Hub, which was opened in 2018 and is headed by the Science and Development Ministry of Kazakhstan, is a global techno park aimed at nurturing IT startups and companies by providing tax benefits, becoming a pioneer in providing cutting-edge infrastructure, and educational opportunities. It aims at improving technological entrepreneurship, foreign investment and solving the issue of shortage in the number of skilled IT personnel. Over 1,400 resident companies, 400 of which are foreign, Astana Hub was turned into a central hub of the innovation in Central Asia, with the primary focus of the government on making Kazakhstan a leader within the regional tech environment.
Economic Impact
The government of Kazakhstan has had the foresight of establishing Astana Hub which has evolved the IT sector of this country to high levels. As of the middle of 2022, resident enterprises earned a total of 383 billion tenge (about USD 783 million) total, revenue, including 123.3 billion tenge (USD 252 million) export earnings in IT services. The total size of IT services, which involved both programming and consulting, rose to 293.3 billion tenge by the first quarter of the year 2024, with 72 percent more than the year before. Such growth shows the importance of Astana Hub in developing the convenient situation in the business of IT companies, especially in Astana and Almaty that comprise 41.5 percent and 49 percent of IT services correspondingly. It is on a high commendation that government support in tax incentives along with infrastructural investment use has played its part in this achievement.
Skill and Educational Development Programmes
The concentration on the development of human capital is one of the pillars of the success of Astana Hub through the government involvement in education. Since 2018, Astana Hub has trained more than 18,000 people in IT programs to solve the problem of acute professional deficiency. These are acceleration and incubation programs and since 2022, they have produced more than 2,000 graduates. In 2024, Astana Hub also organized free AI education projects in schools, among students, adults, and state employees by collaborating with the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace Industry. Such programs indicate the commitment of the government to develop a digital-savvy workforce, which is why the government draws admiration due to its inclusive attitude toward education.
Start up and Entrepreneurship
With the government of Kazakhstan taking strategic positioning with the international tech leaders, such as Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Google, Astana Hub has established an exciting environment with startups. The Silkway Accelerator, as the partner of Google for Startups, has already assisted 37 startups that are evaluated at USD 400 million. Such activities as the AI Battle competitions and Microsoft and NVIDIA workshops have developed innovations and supported the startups with both financial and technical assistance. In March 2025, the Astana Hub introduced a central digital platform in the form of ai.astanahub.com uniting state, business, and education to promote the development of AI innovations. This platform offers resources, databases, and the use of cloud computing that meets the increased needs of computing using GPU. The fact that government is endorsing such entrepreneurship ventures speaks volumes to government and its efforts to ensure that entrepreneurship thrives in this country, which is very commendable.
Reciprocity and Global Cooperation
Astana Hub has put-up Kazakhstan as a global tech destination with its events such as Digital Bridge and Digital Almaty with global outreach of the government. The Digital Bridge 2023 event included more than 30,000 people representing 30 countries, 300 information technology (IT) firms and 150 start-ups enabling 29 memorandums to be developed on IT innovation. Kazakhs took another step when the World Programming Championship was hosted in 2024 and demonstrated the technical potential of the country. The held event, Digital Almaty 2025 between January 31st and February 1st, 2025, was also an event by Kazakhstan that featured the tech ecosystem in the country on Dealroom.co, improving the country in the eyes of the world. Such government and Astana Hub contributions are reflected in the strong community of startups that Tim Draper praised as one of the renowned venture capitalists. These are some of the successes that indicate visionary government in the development of international cooperation.
Success of Digital Transformation
With a strategic vision by its government, Kazakhstan has digitalized and this has resulted in boosting the economic growth of this country. Having received the support of Astana Hub, the IT services industry increased by 19.5 percent between 2021 and 2022, up to 772 billion tenge (USD 1.67 billion). The rapid growth is evidenced by the 72 percent growth in the first quarter of 2024 witnessed in the sector. The key role has been played by such companies as Kaspi.kz, one of the biggest fintech companies and partners of Astana Hub that serves more than 13 million users up to date. The policies implementing such growth should be noted by the government as it changed many things in the process.
With a strategic vision by its government, Kazakhstan has digitalized and this has resulted in boosting the economic growth of this country. Having received the support of Astana Hub, the IT services industry increased by 19.5 percent between 2021 and 2022, up to 772 billion tenge (USD 1.67 billion). The rapid growth is evidenced by the 72 percent growth in the first quarter of 2024 witnessed in the sector. The key role has been played by such companies as Kaspi.kz, one of the biggest fintech companies and partners of Astana Hub that serves more than 13 million users up to date. The policies implementing such growth should be noted by the government as it changed many things in the process.
The investments made by the government in updating the infrastructure of the communication means are essential. The number of rural communities that are connected to the internet increased to more than 1,200 in 2024, and 3,700 government organizations are linked to the high-speed internet. Other technology strategies, such as the introduction of 5G networks and satellite communications have also enabled the growth of smart cities and digital healthcare which the government has taken seriously in terms of connectivity.
E-Government
The e-government services made possible by Digital Kazakhstan program have positioned Kazakhstan among the top in the UN e-Government Survey by 2024. Research funding and public services have been simplified under initiatives by Astana Hub like the reengineering of 19 business processes considered to be of a critical nature by 2024. The engagement of the government in ensuring more accessibility and efficiency of the various government services and functions is also quite welcome and the topic of E-Government process is also addressed in my article titled “Digital Transformation of Kazakhstan – A Success Journey of E-Government”.
Emerging Technologies
The government of Kazakhstan has a 2024-2029 plan on AI development, which has been a game changer. The ai.astanahub.com is the best place to collaborate and innovate, and the striving to create 1,000-1,500 AI-related startup teams by 2025 in cooperation with Google to introduce AI learning in 14 universities proves to have a forward-looking leadership. It is good that the government has invested in the emerging technologies.
Challenges
Challenges are effectively overcome by Astana Hub with the assistance of the government. Such initiatives as its educational programs and collaborations with other countries around the world help bridge the gap in skills and such events as Kazakhstan Tech Solution Day in 2024 concentrate on cybersecurity. The efforts aimed at increasing the rural access to the internet and attaining digital inclusion, which were addressed during Digital Bridge 2023, decrease inequality. The activity of the government and Astana Hub to address these issues is welcomed very much.
Appreciation
Kazakhstan, the country leadership is to be applauded on the decisions to initiate the “Digital Kazakhstan” program and Astana Hub. The interest of the government demonstrated by Astana Hub as an incubator of startups, their capabilities, and international partnerships proves to be the effect of developing a knowledge-based economy. This proves that the government has forward-thinking policy and Astana Hub is a well-run operation with the ability to create a very powerful IT eco system to draw international appeal to the techno park.
Future Prospects
Further development in the realm of digital transformation in Kazakhstan is about to take place due to Astana Hub and the government. Innovation will be strengthened by raising the spending on science to 1 percent of GDP by 2029. Innovation of AI projects, international conferences such as Digital Almaty 2025, and cooperation with the countries speaking Turkic language and other countries of the world will strengthen the international reputation of Kazakhstan. The efforts by the government and Astana Hub to solve all the issues and concerns such as cybersecurity and digital inequality will make further progress more concrete and secure the status of Kazakhstan in terms of being one of the major digital hubs in Central Asia.
Conclusion
With historical background in the country and futuristic approach of the Kazakhstan government, Astana Hub has made a stronghold in the digitalization of Kazakhstan. By means of sponsoring startups, educational projects, and collaborating internationally, Astana Hub has established a successful ecosystem of IT development that resonated with the project of Digital Kazakhstan. Economic growth, improvement of digital infrastructure, and becoming a global tech player is a result of the strategy of the government deploying their investments and startup Astana Hub bringing innovative solutions. Nevertheless, the joint efforts of the government and Astana Hub guarantee a good future of the digital economy of Kazakhstan. They have made a remarkable input, towards this change, their contribution is highly valued, and one to place as an example of regional digital advancement.
Mr. Muhammad Ali Pasha is a “Foreign Affairs Expert”. Furthermore, he is a author and poet.
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