According to Financial Writer Jessica Weisman-Pitts, investors would be wise to keep abreast of Kazakhstan’s fintech sector, where leading technology firms are investing heavily in the nation’s growth thanks to a young, educated workforce and a super ambitious national Digital Agenda.
By Jessica Weisman-Pitts
For an industry that prides itself on disruption and innovation, the leading names in fintech have remained remarkably stable over the last few years.
And whether it’s due to their deep capital markets, enviable lifestyles, or strong start-up cultures, it’s striking that 8 of the world’s 10 largest fintech companies, according to Forbes, are based in two global innovation hubs: California and London.
But fintech watchers would be wise to look towards Kazakhstan, the world’s ninth largest country by landmass strategically located between Russia and China, which is fast becoming a centre for fintech innovation.
The country’s young and tech-savvy population is supported by an array of transformative government programmes in line with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s vision to make Kazakhstan ‘one of the largest digital hubs in Eurasia’. This has turned Kazakhstan into an exciting new landscape for high growth fintech firms looking to challenge the established pack.
Leading the way is conglomerate Freedom Holding Corp, who recently announced an impressive 43% increase in Q1 2024 revenue year-on-year driven by the company’s insurance and brokerage arms.
Freedom Holding Corp brings its brokerage, investment, retail banking and insurance arms under a single holding structure. Founded in 2015 by entrepreneur and financier Timur Turlov, who retains a 73% stake in the group.
The group has shown impressive growth since its inception, leading to a listing on the Nasdaq in 2019 which saw its market capitalisation balloon to over USD4 billion just two years later.
The acquisition of Prime Executions, a brokerage with nearly 35 years of experience as a member of the New York Stock Exchange in 2020, cemented the company’s US presence. This paved the way for the launch of Freedom Capital Markets, now the conglomerates’ investment banking and equity capital markets division.
Following on closely are Kaspi.kz, Kazakhstan’s second largest bank by market capitalisation, who offer an impressive suite of retail banking, payments, e-commerce and document verification services within a single, integrated app.
Already a household name in Kazakhstan, Kaspi listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2020, before deciding to transfer to New York in January of this year in an IPO which valued the company at over USD17.5 billion.
Meanwhile Forte Bank, whose outlook was recently raised by S&P Global Ratings from ‘Stable’ to ‘Positive’, thanked investors in April by allocating 46% of net profit for an attractive dividend payment, pointing to the promising long-term prospects of Kazakhstan’s fintech sector.
This has undoubtedly been aided by the country’s ambitious Digital Kazakhstan programme, which has already delivered an impressive e-government platform that has attracted the interest of foreign partners, such as neighbouring Tajikistan.
And the government’s commitment to promoting innovative digital business is illustrated by the Astana Hub which, set up in 2018, offers exemptions from corporate tax, income tax and VAT for goods sold for the more than 1,400 IT companies registered there, ranking today as the largest international technology park in Central Asia.
But no country can expect to achieve digital transformation through a solely state-led initiative, and that’s where companies such as Freedom Holding Group may have an important role to play.
Turlov, a Kazakh citizen, has ambitious plans for the nation, recently announcing a USD230 million investment into an digital ‘hyper-highway’ and accompanying data centres which will provide high-speed internet connectivity across the nation. The investment is part of Kazakhstan’s Digital Silk Road project, a proposed East-West digital corridor connecting Asia with Europe which could benefit up to 1.8 billion people.
And growth is now set to continue under a nascent strategic partnership between Freedom Telecom and Vodafone, to promote knowledge sharing through advisory support and sharing best practice.
Timur Turlov explained in a post on Instagram, the partnership not only grants Freedom Telecom access to Vodafone’s 40 year expertise in the market, but also sends a clear signal that Kazakhstan’s economy is open to investment and that the ‘rules of the game’ are strong.
Fintech is a highly competitive market and established players, such as Stripe and Revolut, are already planning forays into emerging sectors such as cryptocurrency and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
But ultimately fintech watchers would be wise to keep a close eye on Kazakhstan, whose leading technology firms are investing heavily in the nation’s growth.
And with a young and highly educated workforce and a government that’s bought into an ambitious digital strategy, the nation has all the ingredients to become the next tech disrupter on the global stage.
Notes from the Editor: This feature has been edited from its original publication here.
