ASTANA – The “MyBusiness: business without borders” app, developed and created by Chevron, the British Council and the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, is a hoped-for way to protect the rights of entrepreneurs in the country.
“The mobile application ‘MyBusiness: business without borders’ is a unique software product created for the business community of the countries of the Eurasian continent to support, develop and expand transparent conditions for its successful quantitative and qualitative growth,” said Yerlan Stambekov, chair of the Almaty Chamber of Entrepreneurs regional council during the app presentation in Almaty in mid-December. “We express our gratitude to Chevron and the British Council for their assistance in developing the section on social entrepreneurship for this application.”
The app includes various government databases, registrars, procedures for registering business in Kazakhstan, the list of banks and legal database for entrepreneurs interested in doing business in this part of the world in English, Kazakh, Mandarin and Russian. It also features tips from experienced businesspeople who have been doing business in the country, frequently asked questions and success stories.
The community of foreign entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan is also interested in participating in the project and has offered its business-related information to be uploaded into the database.
“The interest to doing business in Kazakhstan is growing. Eight countries have reciprocated, among them China, Russia, Belarus and Armenia. The foreign investors and businesspeople have expressed a desire to post information about themselves in the application and to tell how they conduct business in their countries,” noted Stambekov.
He added approximately 60 entrepreneurs successfully used the app in 2016 to secure legal aid in resolving paperwork. More than 20,000 people are currently using the app with their own personal pages and the chance to display their business and services.
The presentation was held as part of closing a phase of the I-SEED (Innovations – Social Entrepreneurship and Education) project, implemented by the British Council and Chevron since 2013. The project’s goal is to support socially pro-active youth in Kazakhstan and create conditions for a sustainable solution of social problems through promoting social entrepreneurship.
The nearly 300 people who took part in the project last year had the chance to learn more about project management, fund raising, project presentation to potential investors and business planning. They independently implemented 18 social projects and developed 12 social entrepreneurship projects, with the two best receiving $2,000 in funding from Chevron. The company is one of the leading private oil companies in Kazakhstan with significant shares in two large oil projects – Tengiz and Karachaganak.
The British Council, which works in the fields of cultural relations and educational opportunities, contributes to creating a friendly atmosphere for building cooperation and strengthening mutual understanding between the United Kingdom and other countries.
