Digital Business, a leading tech media outlet in Kazakhstan published an insightful interview with Anatoly Motkin, President of StrategEast, focusing on strategies for Kazakh startups to scale in MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries. Mr. Motkin emphasized that the MENA market, particularly countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, offers a promising new direction for Kazakh IT startups. “This region is not oversaturated with offers and is ready to invest millions of dollars in the IT sector, attracting specialists and technologies from other countries,” Mr. Motkin stated.
The MENA region is undergoing a massive digital transformation, creating a substantial demand for technical specialists and significant investment opportunities for foreign startups. “There are more than 500 venture funds in the Gulf countries, with total capital estimated in billions of dollars,” he underlined.
StrategEast President explained that the MENA region’s IT ecosystem is relatively young and lacks a sufficient number of mature companies ready for large investments. “Most funding goes to the early stages (seed and Series A), reflectingthe initial stage of startup development. Therefore, venture funds in MENA countries invest in foreign startups,” Mr. Motkin noted. For example, the Emirati sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company has invested $15 billion in the SoftBank Vision Fund to find more mature and scalable projects.
Anatoly Motkin highlighted the acute shortage of specialists in the region, which hinders the development of local startups. “In Kuwait, there are dozens of startups valued at $20-30 million each, but they struggle to find local developers to advance their products,” Mr. Motkin said, suggesting that this opens up opportunities for Kazakh specialists. Additionally, Oman has established a $500 million fund to invest in startups, financing foreign IT projects.
The MENA region presents tremendous opportunities for Kazakh startups, with significant investment funds and a growing demand for IT solutions. Anatoly Motkin concludes that the Gulf region opens up new tremendous opportunities for startups from Central Asia.
For more details on scaling Kazakh startups in the MENA region, read the full interview on Digital Business.
