Biography
Askar Bilisbekov is the CEO of Qazaqstan Venture Group, which manages the country’s (targeted) $1B fund of funds. He is also an advisor to the deputy prime minister of AI and digital development.
Prior to this, Askar held various positions in public office and in the private sector (Rolls Royce, BMW…). He also used to be managing partner of byb capital, another VC firm.
Askar is a Stanford Graduate School of Business alumnus.
Disclaimer: This interview reflects Askar’s personal views, not the Kazakh government’s views.
When and why did tech become a priority for Kazakhstan’s government?
It’s hard to precisely pinpoint, but I’d say around seven to ten years ago. It became a priority thanks to two necessities: economic diversification and digital sovereignty.
Kazakhstan gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Since then, the country’s economy has depended on natural resources (coal, oil, natural gas). A resource economy isn’t a viable economic model. Spurring the local tech sector was a way to initiate that diversification.
Kazakhstan shares two immense land borders with both China and Russia. We are halfway between east and west. Our geographical location is extremely strategic. As a result, many countries (and their companies) vie for influence in the Kazakh market. Building our own solid tech infrastructure (by digitizing the state itself and investing in local tech companies) reinforces our digital sovereignty and ultimately, the country’s resilience.
The president recently changed the name of the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry to the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, of which I am an advisor. The minister for that ministry has been elevated to the rank of “deputy prime minister” rather than just “minister”. That shows the importance this space has taken for the Kazakh government.
How does a country “get started” in launching its tech sector?