Business inspections will be
carried out without human intervention in Kazakhstan, from January 1, 2024. The
country is set to introduce an automated risk management system which will
reduce scheduled inspections of entrepreneurs by half. According to the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Kazakhstan made progress in
reducing the burden on business, the country’s Minister
of National Economy Alibek Kuantyrov stated during a Senate meeting. He
noted the steady growth of small and medium-sized businesses over the past five
years, adding that their involvement in the country’s economy increased from 31
to 36 percent. To date, there are more than two million registered SMEs in
Kazakhstan, with nearly 90 percent of them currently operating. Kuantyrov emphasized
that the growth of entrepreneurial activity in the country is facilitated by
government support measures. Under the new program, the focus will not be
placed on subsidies as assistance but on providing guarantees for businesses
and encouraging SMEs to consolidate.
“Over the first 10 months of this
year, measures of preferential financing covered nearly 9,000 business projects
for the amount of 669 billion tenge under the subsidizing instrument and 7,000
projects amounting to 270 billion tenge under the guarantee instrument. The Kazakh
Government and the country’s business community have established a systematic
and constructive dialogue and regularly discuss systemic issues at meetings of
the Council of Domestic Entrepreneurs chaired by Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan
Smailov, weekly meetings chaired by Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar,
as well as at the regional meetings between government members and businesses,”
said Kuantyrov.
