Entrepreneur Nurali Aliyev is backing the growth of Kazakhstan’s IT sector on two fronts. One is his business, the telecom operator Transtelecom. The other is Zhanartu, a charity foundation he set up to support young tech talent.
Transtelecom JSC is one of the largest communication operators in Kazakhstan. It offers a wide range of telecom and information services along with IT solutions. Since its launch, the company has built smart digital products, brought in new high-tech tools and upgraded communication facilities across the country.
Cyber security is part of its work too. The company created a new digital security model based on mature SIEM technology. It was also the first in Kazakhstan to set up a SOC, or Information Security Monitoring Centre.
In an interview, Aliyev said one of Transtelecom’s main goals is to give every resident of Kazakhstan comfortable and modern conditions. To get there, the company plans to bring very fast internet to the most remote parts of the country. He added that a strong entry into the international market will be key to its success.
A new strategy at Expo 2017
At the Astana Expo 2017, Transtelecom ran its own corporate pavilion. Visitors could follow the history of communications from ancient times to today and see the company’s plans for the future. Meanwhile, the company is shifting its strategy. It will now focus on a broader range of IT services for business and government clients, using its own infrastructure to deliver new solutions.
Aliyev also traveled to Belarus, where he visited the Hi Tech IT Park and met its director, Vsevolod Yanchevsky. During the trip he also met Shi Yuzhu, the Chinese IT billionaire who founded Giant Interactive, as well as leaders of other major IT firms from the Asia-Pacific region. Their talks covered promising Belarusian projects in artificial intelligence, Big Data and machine vision.
After the visit, Aliyev described the Belarus park as one of the largest innovation clusters in the CIS. He pointed out that mobile apps from its companies have more than 1 billion users in 193 countries, which in his view shows real skill.
Together with his wife, Aida Aliyeva, Aliyev also founded the Zhanartu Foundation. The Astana-based charity gives financial support to IT talent across Kazakhstan, since its aim is to get young founders involved in the country’s startup scene. Aliyev said young people want to start their own companies, and supporting them is an investment in the future.
