ASTANA – Pavel Durov, founder of the largest social networking site VK and the Telegram messenger app, recently returned from Kazakhstan, “the economic powerhouse of Central Asia,” stating that the country’s beauty “can only be rivaled by its ambitions,” according to his Telegram post on July 15.
Zhaslan Madiyev with Pavel Durov. Photo credit: Zhaslan Madiyev’s Instagram
“The country attracts international companies and tech startups with business-friendly policies and favorable taxes. It also improves its edge in education and science by supporting innovative schools and universities,” he wrote.
When Durov announced his visit to Central Asia, Kazakh Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry Zhaslan Madiyev invited him and his team to Kazakhstan.
“Pavel Durov is a prominent IT entrepreneur who founded a $2 billion IT company. He founded VK in 2006 and Telegram in 2013. Today, Telegram’s monthly audience is around one billion users. Pavel Durov’s experience had a great influence on the younger generation and became an example for many IT entrepreneurs,” Madiyev wrote on his Instagram page.
Pavel Durov plays dombyra. Photo credit: Du Rove’s Channel/Telegram
Durov says Telegram has 12.5 million monthly users in Kazakhstan, marking a 25% increase from the previous year.
Madiyev emphasized the ministry’s efforts to attract large technology companies (Big Tech) to Kazakhstan, following President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s instructions. Over 300 international IT companies have recently established offices in the country, creating thousands of jobs and significantly boosting IT industry exports. Among these companies are InDrive, Netcracker, Playrix, and Ozon.
Durov’s trip to Kazakhstan included official meetings in Astana, visits to the Astana Hub International Technopark of IT startups, and the Astana International Financial Centre. He was also shown Kazakhstan’s achievements in digitization, government services, IT business, and the investment ecosystem. The ministry also arranged visits to tourist sites such as Burabai and Charyn Canyon, the IQanat school for gifted children, Almaty’s Environmental Institute and the High Tech Academy.
“Following the trip, Pavel Durov highly praised the country’s business climate, organizational reforms, and human capital development. We see great prospects for close cooperation with Telegram in the future and are glad to see their team in Kazakhstan again. In turn, we will continue to systematically attract large technology companies to Kazakhstan,” Madiyev concluded.
