Record set at Digital Almaty 2024: Over 30,000 people attended the digital forum
05.02.2024, 17:29
Photo: The Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan Press Service
Over 30,000 unique visitors attended the International Digital Forum over three days. The main theme of the event was "Industry X: The Digital Evolution of the Future," Liter.kz reports.
The forum featured a plenary session of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) with the participation of the heads of government from Kazakhstan, Belarus, Russia, and Uzbekistan. In addition, 47 panel sessions were held. Nearly 300 speakers took part in the business program overall.
At the sidelines of Digital Almaty 2024, the Minister of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry, Bagdat Mussin, spoke about the significant interest in Kazakhstan’s digital solutions from other countries. Evidence of this is the participation of around 70 experts from foreign nations in the panel discussions, including ministers of digitalization from several countries.
In e-government rankings, the Republic of Kazakhstan ranks 28th globally, and in online services, Kazakhstan ranks 8th in the world. This is evidenced by the fact that representatives from various countries come here to IT forums to learn how we are progressing and what new solutions we are developing to enhance interaction between the state and businesses, as well as between the state and our citizens, Bagdat Mussin said.
The head of the Ministry of Digital Development noted that Kazakhstan is ranked eighth globally in online services. At year-end 2023, 50 million services were provided online, and 92% of services are now accessible to citizens without leaving their homes. Currently, the government is tasked with implementing digital technologies in the industrial sector.
Additionally, deputy ministers of defense, healthcare, science and higher education, and labor and social protection shared their achievements in automating services in the public sector. Today, Kazakhstani citizens can, without leaving their homes, apply to universities, obtain a military deferment for educational purposes, find employment, make appointments at clinics, register property, apply for digital mortgages, and more.
Alongside the discussion platforms, the event hosted an exhibition showcasing digital projects from approximately 230 domestic and international IT companies, as well as leading global digitalization experts. In addition to established companies such as Freedom Bank, Yandex, KCell, and Tele2, the exhibition featured projects by young startups, including Sergek, Target AI, Awara, Med365, IKOD, Datanomix, Intellect Service, Documentolog, Robotics Education, Alabs, BTS Digital, Axellero, Artson Build Invest, and others.
The Digital Almaty 2024 platform provided a significant opportunity for establishing partnerships and exchanging experiences in digitalization. Approximately 60 B2B meetings and over 50 pitch sessions between natural resource users and startups took place during the event.
As a result of the Forum, about 30 memoranda were signed. For example, Freedom Holding Corp. signed a memorandum with the Executive Directorate of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea. During the forum, Timur Turlov presented the "Eco-Cards to Support the Aral Sea" project, the main idea of which is to allocate 10% cashback to the fund for saving the vanishing sea.
On the final day of the forum, the largest Industry 4.0 Startup Battle took place at the Digital Almaty 2024 venue, with a total prize pool of $180,000. Out of 200 applications, 30 industrial digitalization startups made it to the finals and competed for prizes provided by the Battle's partners. The best projects were selected by a professional jury composed of representatives from government agencies, venture investors, trackers, and natural resource users (KazPetrol, Kusto Group, KazMinerals, Karachaganak Petroleum).
At the sidelines of Digital Almaty 2024, the Minister of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry, Bagdat Mussin, spoke about the significant interest in Kazakhstan’s digital solutions from other countries. Evidence of this is the participation of around 70 experts from foreign nations in the panel discussions, including ministers of digitalization from several countries.
In e-government rankings, the Republic of Kazakhstan ranks 28th globally, and in online services, Kazakhstan ranks 8th in the world. This is evidenced by the fact that representatives from various countries come here to IT forums to learn how we are progressing and what new solutions we are developing to enhance interaction between the state and businesses, as well as between the state and our citizens, Bagdat Mussin said.
The head of the Ministry of Digital Development noted that Kazakhstan is ranked eighth globally in online services. At year-end 2023, 50 million services were provided online, and 92% of services are now accessible to citizens without leaving their homes. Currently, the government is tasked with implementing digital technologies in the industrial sector.
Additionally, deputy ministers of defense, healthcare, science and higher education, and labor and social protection shared their achievements in automating services in the public sector. Today, Kazakhstani citizens can, without leaving their homes, apply to universities, obtain a military deferment for educational purposes, find employment, make appointments at clinics, register property, apply for digital mortgages, and more.
Alongside the discussion platforms, the event hosted an exhibition showcasing digital projects from approximately 230 domestic and international IT companies, as well as leading global digitalization experts. In addition to established companies such as Freedom Bank, Yandex, KCell, and Tele2, the exhibition featured projects by young startups, including Sergek, Target AI, Awara, Med365, IKOD, Datanomix, Intellect Service, Documentolog, Robotics Education, Alabs, BTS Digital, Axellero, Artson Build Invest, and others.
The Digital Almaty 2024 platform provided a significant opportunity for establishing partnerships and exchanging experiences in digitalization. Approximately 60 B2B meetings and over 50 pitch sessions between natural resource users and startups took place during the event.
As a result of the Forum, about 30 memoranda were signed. For example, Freedom Holding Corp. signed a memorandum with the Executive Directorate of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea. During the forum, Timur Turlov presented the "Eco-Cards to Support the Aral Sea" project, the main idea of which is to allocate 10% cashback to the fund for saving the vanishing sea.
On the final day of the forum, the largest Industry 4.0 Startup Battle took place at the Digital Almaty 2024 venue, with a total prize pool of $180,000. Out of 200 applications, 30 industrial digitalization startups made it to the finals and competed for prizes provided by the Battle's partners. The best projects were selected by a professional jury composed of representatives from government agencies, venture investors, trackers, and natural resource users (KazPetrol, Kusto Group, KazMinerals, Karachaganak Petroleum).
The titles of the best industrial startups were awarded as follows:
THE BEST ESG STARTUP — KazagroTech;
THE BEST DIGITAL OIL FIELD STARTUP — NeuronOil;
THE BEST SMART MINING STARTUP — ASPANS;
THE MOST INVESTABLE STARTUP — Wes;
GVA’S FAVORITE STARTUP — Dereknet;
The company O.R.I.S. by A-business received a VK Cloud grant worth 10 million tenge. Equipmetry, SmartView, and iMedHub Forus were awarded grants of $20,000 each for using Yandex Cloud.
Additionally, five startups received certificates to participate in the exhibition at the Skolkovo Startup Village 2024 conference. These are AIMI, InPro-Tech, Ikem Technologies, KIT Drone, and “Hydroponic Biological Feed”.
Furthermore, several companies were awarded tickets to attend MINEXPO in Las Vegas, USA. The lucky startups included AIMI, OST engineering, Dereknet, and Wes.
The forum also garnered significant public and media interest. Approximately 750 articles were published in the media, and there were about 2,000 mentions (posts and reels) about Digital Almaty 2024 on social media.
Additionally, five startups received certificates to participate in the exhibition at the Skolkovo Startup Village 2024 conference. These are AIMI, InPro-Tech, Ikem Technologies, KIT Drone, and “Hydroponic Biological Feed”.
Furthermore, several companies were awarded tickets to attend MINEXPO in Las Vegas, USA. The lucky startups included AIMI, OST engineering, Dereknet, and Wes.
The forum also garnered significant public and media interest. Approximately 750 articles were published in the media, and there were about 2,000 mentions (posts and reels) about Digital Almaty 2024 on social media.