Kenes Rakishev, entrepreneur and former special envoy for Kazakhstan and Vyacheslav Kim, both among the Top 10 richest businessmen in Kazakhstan according to Forbes, have announced their intention to create a new venture fund based on the International Financial Center in Astana.
They shared their plans at the “Build Your Own Business” grants ceremony organized by the Saby Foundation. The finalists of the competition received a total of $330,000 in grants from Rakishev and Kim to develop their projects.
The businessmen have not disclosed the fund’s business plan or whether they have been in talks with other potential investors. However, given the growing economic role of Kazakhstan in Central Asia, major global investors show interest in the new fund, which will be aimed at larger projects to help entrepreneurs to scale up.
Rakishev is a major venture investor and President of Fincraft Group, while Kim is the Chairman of the board of directors of Kaspi.kz, the largest fintech company in Kazakhstan created on the basis of the bank “Kaspi”.
Kenes Rakishev and Vyacheslav Kim announced their intention to create a new venture fund based on the International Financial Center in Astana.