- Kazakhstan is situated in the heart of Eurasia and front country of the Central Asian region
- Kazakhstan is now the most attractive country in the post-Soviet space
- “Little Hong Kong” is also progressing in the field of online services, having risen from 11th to 8th place, and is still in the top 10 countries for providing online services
This article is not about population density, but about the investment climate, digital technologies and the development of the country. In the heart of Eurasia is Kazakhstan, the front country of the Central Asian region, where three geopolitical powers are fighting for dominance in the current geopolitical situation. Influence in this territory have a great political and economic importance, and given that Asia is a growing market for investment, Kazakhstan is now the most attractive country in the post-Soviet space, offering, among other things, its digital solutions with a ready-made digital ecosystem. Due to its multi-vector policy, this “Big Switzerland” provides a developed IT infrastructure, E-government (E-GOV, the platform where citizens may get state services on-line) and provides comfortable conditions for its investors on the basis of the Astana International Financial Center, where the common legal jurisdiction of England and Wales operates. Why did no one notice this cherry on the innovative cake? Answer: just because of non-acquaintance.
Hidden from the broad view Digi-stan made considerable transformations and now is not a “white fifth” against the backdrop of Western European countries and Asian frontiers like Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore, whose markets, as it turned out, managed to fall behind in some cases, while Little Kazakhstan has digitized and automated all processes from “a stack of memos” to “issuing any certificates and documents to citizens” in three clicks.
Statistics of the E-GOV:
1300 services in electronic format;
8 million citizens in the E-GOV mobile application;
2.5 million monthly users;
20 documents available online;
95+% of public services are available online.
Rather than making the description of complex IT systems, we better hereby will tell you about several successful cases that caused complete delight with their manufacturability and the most humanized approach to solving the issue of obtaining a document using business intelligence.
So, for example, receiving a cute SMS notification after the birth of a child from the E-government, that already knows that a small citizen has become part of this world, and he needs a sunset certificate – a children’s identity card, which can be obtained by writing in response only the name of the child and in a few days the one will receive the finished document. As a nice bonus, order the delivery of this identity card. So, you do not need visit Citizen Service Centers that operate throughout the country and provide the best service to citizens in the principle of “single window” system (from issuing passports, certificates of criminal record, social security numbers, legal proceedings, registration of real estate and transport, to even registration in kindergarten and citizenship). To be simple, it’s like our bureau, but only with a 90% reduction in bureaucratic red tape and the options for withdrawal of all documents in one place.
To present date, more than 1300 services are provided in electronic format. One gets the feeling that in Digi-stan online you cannot only file for divorce. If you think that E-signature (electronic digital signature) is a modern way of signing documents, then in Kazakhstan it has been used for more than 10 years, and now people are already signing documents and verifying their identity using face-id. The E-government has a mobile application where all data is stored in the personal account of each resident of the country and it is not necessary to carry dozens of documents like a technical passport for a car with you in a cardholder, all this is available online.
In terms of e-participation of citizens, the country ranks 15th in the world. According to the index of digitalization of public services, Kazakhstan is in 6th place among 198 countries. As well as in 28th place in the global development rating of the UN E-government.
“Little Hong Kong” is also progressing in the field of online services, having risen from 11th to 8th place, and is still in the top 10 countries for providing online services. The list also includes the leading e-government countries: Estonia, Finland, South Korea, Denmark, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, USA and Japan.
Already now, Kazakhstan is ahead of the Germany, which has lost points among the leaders of digitalization, switching the entire focus to the digital industry, while reducing support for digital innovations in socially significant initiatives. A distinctive feature of Kazakhstan in the digital world is that all innovations come from the state, which has well stimulated the integration of GOV Tech solutions. According to this principle, an anti-corruption case can become successful – the exclusion of the human factor, due to automation. Exclusion of bureaucracy – eliminates corruption: when services are digitalized and electronic registries are created, there is no place for the human factor.
From the country of the Soviets to the digital hub, Kazakhstan has grown in 30 years. And now it is the leader of Central Asia in the technological race. Due to this, the country has significantly increased its socio-economic standards: the integration of technologies has increased the standard of living and well-being of all market participants, and hence the loyalty of both citizens and investors (companies). Now leadership in the digital economy is the key not only to prestige in the international arena, but also to progress – technical and humanitarian.
Work on digitalization in Kazakhstan continues. Total digitalization and IT development is reflected in everything – from receiving public services to shopping in supermarkets. “Little Hong Kong” can be considered an ideal E-country, where the state itself can solve all the necessary tasks, and not drive a person around service points and various bureaus. The results of the ongoing digitalization policy are already noticeable, and it should be noted that Kazakhstan, one of the few, will be able to jump over several stages of development and start exporting not only mineral resources, but also IT services, if it continues to develop the industry and infrastructure.
A developed ecosystem, infrastructure, sanctions on Russia and the political situation in neighbouring countries attract more and more talent people and business to the country. Dozens of enterprises have successfully relocated to “Big Switzerland”, for a simple reason: a neutral country, friendly with everyone, does not join any political camps, provides a digital ecosystem and a favourable investment climate with tax preferences, because for 90% of foreign companies, digital transformation top business priority. E-residency gives the right to register a business online and work legally in Kazakhstan. Thus, a good slogan for Kazakh digitalization is born: “It’s fast, easy and simple with us.”
Now Kazakhstan is the only country in Central Asia where there is a big digital difference in everyday aspects of life: Kazakhs already have 5G Internet, there are terminals in all shops and establishments, and cashless payments are available even in trading markets. And not only in the capital. Kazakhstan annually sets world records for the growth of E-commerce, removing cash payments and thereby eradicating corruption. The number of Internet users is 17.4 million people, while the total population of the country is 19.8 million. Almost all of Kazakhstan is covered by high-quality wireless Internet, and active digitalization of all spheres of life within the state – digital public services are introduced into the everyday life of Kazakhs like three meals a day.
Sounds like the plot of what we called The Matrix in 2021 and thought was only possible in movies, today is the real thing. Technology, as it happens now, has caught up with the idea of science fiction, and it seems that digitalization and the availability of advanced infrastructure will help Kazakhstan move through several stages of development at once and enter the elite club of first world countries.
