The implementation of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s directives from the 2024 Address, “Fair Kazakhstan: Law and Order, Economic Growth, Public Optimism” remains a priority for the Government: conditions are being created to attract capital on a “here and now” basis, the guaranteed sales market for domestic producers is being expanded, and the share of Kazakhstani content in procurement is being increased. Particular attention is being paid to expanding financial and non-financial support instruments for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The key objective of the ongoing work is to create a predictable, competitive environment and transparent rules for business, which is directly in line with the Head of State’s directives.
Increasing the share of domestic content
To increase the workload of domestic enterprises, the Government has expanded regulated procurement instruments and introduced long-term agreements and off-take contracts.
Within the framework of government procurement, exemptions from the national regime have been established for up to 4,834 items. By the end of the first six months of 2025, more than 106,000 contracts totaling 333.4 billion tenge were concluded—an increase of more than twofold compared to the same period in 2024.
At the same time, work is underway to create a unified Register of Domestic Goods Producers, which will ensure companies’ priority access to procurement and state support measures, as well as help eliminate “fake producers.”
Register of Domestic Goods Manufacturers: Digital Verification and Market Protection
In accordance with the President’s instructions, the creation of the Registry of Goods of Kazakhstani Origin is nearing completion. The platform will replace ST-KZ certificates and industrial certificates, ensure automatic data verification through government databases, reduce corruption risks, and enable confirmation of actual production.
Companies will receive a free online statement with a QR code; inclusion is subject to confirmed production. The full launch is scheduled for January 1, 2026.
The role of systemically important enterprises and subsoil users
The Samruk-Kazyna Fund is improving the quality of support for domestic manufacturers and working to increase procurement: in 2024, subsidiaries signed 287 contracts worth 537.4 billion tenge (nearly three times more than in 2023), and from January to June 2025, 417 contracts worth 230.3 billion tenge were signed.
The subsoil use sector is one of the key sectors for the development of the country’s industrial potential. In this sector, 290 contracts worth 138.9 billion tenge were signed in 2024 (2.6 times more than in 2023), and 551 contracts worth 901.4 billion tenge were signed in the first half of 2025.
Overall, the share of procurement by subsoil users and systemically important enterprises exceeds 40% of the total volume—this reflects the President’s emphasis on involving large businesses in industrial development.
Long-term contracts and off-take agreements
In 2024, a total of 898 long-term contracts and off-take agreements were signed, totaling over $2 billion (approximately 1 trillion tenge). In January–June 2025, 968 contracts were signed worth 1.132 trillion tenge, which is 1.9 times more than a year earlier.
A prime example is KazMinerals’ offtake contract with Chile’s ME Elecmetal to build a grinding ball production plant in Taldykorgan with an investment of $85 million, which aligns with the Head of State’s directive to expand partnerships with international investors and implement turnkey projects.
Legislative Changes: Guaranteed Procurement and Localization Programs
At the same time, a number of amendments were adopted this year requiring large customers, including subsoil users, to develop and implement programs to increase the Kazakhstani content in the procurement of goods, works, and services.
To support industry, a new type of contract has been introduced—the guaranteed procurement contract. It stipulates that a manufacturing enterprise commits to consistently supplying products in a specified volume, while the customer guarantees long-term procurement.
Comprehensive support for SMEs: preferential financing, guarantees, and consulting
The key instruments of the Comprehensive Entrepreneurship Support Program are implemented by the Damu Fund. By the end of 2024, preferential financing measures through loan subsidies had covered more than 17,000 business projects with a total loan amount of approximately 1 trillion tenge, and guarantees were provided for 8,000 projects totaling 310 billion tenge.
By region, the majority of subsidized projects were implemented in the cities of Almaty, Astana, and Shymkent, as well as in the Almaty, Turkestan, and Aktobe regions. The fewest projects were in the Ulytau, Zhetisu, and Abai regions. By sector, as of the end of 2024, the leading sectors were manufacturing (33.3%), transportation and warehousing (17%), and education (7.8%).
In 2025, 271.1 billion tenge is planned to be allocated for preferential financing.
As part of non-financial support, approximately 15,000 entrepreneurs have been trained, and more than 135,000 consultations on various business issues have been provided.
New Guarantee Architecture: “Damu” Guarantee Funds and Legislative Changes
Starting in 2025, two guarantee mechanisms have been launched under the Damu Fund—one for large-scale investment projects and another for lending to small and medium-sized businesses. This allows for more active channeling of bank liquidity into the real sector of the economy.
The guarantee fund for large-scale investment initiatives covers projects worth 7 billion tenge or more, which helps address the issue of insufficient collateral. Support is directed toward key sectors of the economy—manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, and export-oriented industries. Currently, work is underway with potential borrowers, applications are being accepted, and issues related to regulatory frameworks and sources of capitalization are being addressed. Concurrently, amendments to the Budget Code have been prepared to allow for the provision of state guarantees for the fund’s obligations.
The SME Guarantee Fund covers projects up to 7 billion tenge. It is designed to support entrepreneurs who lack sufficient collateral and aims to reduce dependence on state funds.
To date, portfolio guarantee agreements have been concluded with ten second-tier banks: Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan, Bank CenterCredit, Freedom Bank of Kazakhstan, ForteBank, Bereke Bank, DB KZI Bank, Nurbank, Bank RBK, Jusan Bank, and Eurasian Bank.
It is important to note that financial institutions have already made voluntary contributions to the SME Guarantee Fund: Freedom Bank — 537 million, Halyk Bank — 2 billion, Bank CenterCredit — 2.6 billion, ForteBank — 1 billion, Bank RBK — 500 million tenge.
At the same time, on June 26, 2025, the Head of State signed the Law “On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Forestry, Specially Protected Natural Areas, and Guaranteeing the Obligations of Private Business Entities,” which established a loan guarantee system for businesses.
As of August 12, 2025, 1,069 projects totaling 170.2 billion tenge have been supported, of which 92.16 billion tenge consisted of issued guarantees. Guarantees are provided through a simplified procedure within two business days. The main sectors are manufacturing, transportation, warehousing, and educational services.
New “Orleu” Preferential Lending Program
To stimulate investment and employment, the “Orleu” program was launched this year on a co-financing basis: 60% from banks and 40% from the “Dam” Fund.
The program provides preferential loans for investment purposes, replenishment of working capital, and refinancing of existing loans issued no earlier than January 1, 2025.
The program’s goal is to create favorable conditions for expanding production, technological modernization, and economic diversification. Funding will be directed to priority sectors: manufacturing, agricultural processing, logistics, education, healthcare, and others.
“Damu” funds totaling 81.5 billion tenge have been placed with Freedom Bank Kazakhstan, Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan, Bank CenterCredit, Nurbank, and ForteBank. Financing for 417 projects amounting to 203.7 billion tenge has already been secured.
Improving the Business Climate: “1 in 2 out,” the “regulatory guillotine,” and the “prosecutor’s filter”
Since 2021, Kazakhstan has been working on the phased introduction of a new regulatory policy in the field of business. The “1 in 2 out” principle and the “regulatory guillotine” method are being applied to requirements that negatively impact the business environment.
On April 6, 2024, a law on doing business was adopted, which improved state oversight and eliminated over 10,000 redundant requirements.
According to the General Prosecutor’s Office, the regulatory burden on businesses decreased by 58% in 2024 compared to 2019.
On December 30, 2024, the Law on Stock Exchange Trading and Entrepreneurship introduced a “prosecutor’s filter” mechanism to reduce the regulatory burden on investors, requiring that any restrictive or prohibitive measures be coordinated with prosecutors.
At the same time, the accessibility and predictability of licensing are improving: by the end of the year, the qualification requirements for businesses to obtain various licenses and permits will be revised, and the procedures and timelines for obtaining them will be optimized.
Businesses have also been exempted from submitting a number of reports. Of the 381 reporting tools used across 58 sectors of economic activity, 49% have been optimized and 37% automated.
As a result of these measures, the number of small and medium-sized businesses increased by 4.7% compared to 2024—or 96,209 enterprises—reaching 2,125,003 enterprises.
The share of SMEs in the economy also grew by 0.9 percentage points, reaching 38.6%. The output of small and medium-sized businesses amounted to 18.7 trillion tenge, an increase of 11.4%.
Digitalization for Entrepreneurs: eGov Business as a “Digital Assistant”
In accordance with the President’s directive, approaches to state-business interaction are shifting—from control to partnership. On April 1, 2025, was launched, and the eGov Business mobile app was updated—a modern digital assistant created specifically to support entrepreneurs.
The app is designed to automate the delivery of government services, state support measures, and “e-government” services for SMEs via mobile devices.
New services have been launched, such as business registration, a tax calendar, obtaining electronic certificates, and digital document signing.
Public-Private Partnership: Project Portfolio and Updated Regulatory Framework
As of July 1, 2025, 1,110 PPP and concession agreements totaling 2.6 trillion tenge have been concluded: 15 national projects worth over 1.4 trillion tenge and 1,095 local projects worth over 1.17 trillion tenge.
Since 2022, at the instruction of the Head of State, a reform of the PPP sector has been carried out: loopholes in procurement legislation have been closed, and methodologies for assessing socio-economic effectiveness have been introduced.
In addition, extensive methodological work was carried out in 2022–2023 to improve the quality of project development.
The systematic implementation of the President’s directives from the 2024 Address is yielding a comprehensive effect: for domestic goods producers, predictable demand is being created through regulated procurement, long-term contracts, and guaranteed purchase agreements; for SMEs, access to financing is expanding thanks to subsidies, guarantees, the “Orleu” program, and digital services; for infrastructure, a large-scale modernization effort is being launched with maximum involvement of domestic manufacturers.
Legislative changes, regulatory reform, and a new PPP framework ensure the sustainability of these solutions and align with the Head of State’s key priority: increasing investment, employment, and the technological modernization of Kazakhstan’s economy.
Source: primeminister.kz