140 high-tech
production facilities have been established in Kazakhstan with the support of
the Science Fund. Of these, 15 Kazakh companies have already entered the export
market. Overall, these projects have generated about 30 billion tenge in
revenue, according to Serik Mazhikenov, the Director of the Department of
Technology Commercialization at the Science Fund. The enterprises manufacture
products in the fields of chemistry, medicine, and nuclear physics. Grant
recipients primarily include representatives from the business sector. It is
worth noting that the Science Fund has introduced new co-financing conditions
for them and other participants starting from this year.
“Starting this
year, the grant amount was increased from 300 to 350 million tenge. Also,
co-funding requirements have been revised. While it was previously standardized
at 20 percent for all projects, this year, with the aim to empower scientists
to implement their ideas and projects, the required co-funding level has been
reduced to 10 percent. Additionally, for newly established startup companies,
the co-financing level has been set at 20 percent to promote their creation.
Business representatives must provide co-financing of no less than 30 percent,”
Mazhikenov said.
According to him, almost
70 percent of the projects financed by the Science Fund operate in the
agricultural sector. Also, the main project portfolio also includes production
facilities in healthcare and the chemical industry. Of course, all of these
projects undergo a competitive selection process to receive grants from the
state.
“We started
organizing competitions in 2016. 152 projects were implemented as a result of
three competitions that were held over the next three years. In 2022, another
competition took place, and 72 projects were selected as winners. The Science
Fund signed contracts with 68 of them while canceling two. To date, 66 projects
are being implemented with the help of the fund,” Mazhikenov added.
According to
representatives of the Science Fund, to date, the majority of grants have been
awarded to projects from Almaty city, as well as the Almaty and Turkistan
regions. It bears noting that most of the commercialized projects in the
country are oriented towards the needs of the industrial sector.
