The Astana Hub technology park announced the summarized results of its activities for 2023. The volume of IT exports by the participants of the technopark reached $282.4 million, attracted investments worth $127.8 million (₸57.6 billion), total revenue amounted to $888.7 million (₸400.3 billion), and the number of jobs created exceeded 25,000, QazMonitor reports citing the Hub’s press service.
Magzhan Madiyev, CEO of Astana Hub, noted that the Park has opened regional IT hubs in fourteen regions of Kazakhstan, and seven more are planned for this year. Moreover, Astana Hub lent its digital platform for the pilot project of the National Innovation System, a one-stop service developed for the participants of the domestic innovation ecosystem.
Our members experienced an 84.3% year-on-year increase in IT exports from 2022, covering 85 countries. At the top are the US, Russia, Mexico, Cyprus, Singapore, and the UK. The export potential of startups has significantly increased thanks to accelerator programs, including successful cooperation with global leaders such as Google for Startups and Draper Startup House, as well as the launch of Silkroad Innovation Hub, a platform for IT startups from Central Eurasia in Silicon Valley.
Last year, Astana Hub also became the first partner of Draper Startup House in Central Asia, opening unique opportunities for startup teams. To date, twenty-seven startups have participated in the exclusive Hero Training accelerator program in Silicon Valley, implemented in partnership with Draper University and supported by the World Bank. One of the program participants, CITIX, successfully raised $1 million in investments.
Graduates of Techpreneurs, Startup Garage, Scalerator, Global Outsourcer accelerator, and incubation programs made sales of $1 million (₸455 million). Silkway Accelerator participants raised a total of $26 million in investments, reaching a collective capitalization of over $400 million. Thanks to sponsors and partners, the prize fund of Astana Hub Battle increased to $125 thousand. Additionally, the third batch of the Seed Money program has also been launched, with eleven startups selected for funding from Astana Hub. Each startup will receive up to $22,201 (₸10 million).
Last year marked the start of exporting educational programs to Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Russia, Armenia, Ukraine, and the Kyrgyz Republic. In this regard, an agreement was signed to open an Apple Training Center at Astana Hub for Swift development training.
Under the Tech Orda program at Astana Hub, 3,183 local students received grants to study at the leading IT schools. In addition, thanks to the IT-AIEL program launched with the support of the National Commission on Women's Affairs and Family and Demographic Policy, over 2,000 unemployed women received free training. The Hub also provided courses for more than 2,000 schoolchildren and students.
