RS Bootcamp Study: How Kazakhstani Corporations Are Building Bridges to Startups

The RS Bootcamp Venture Studio and Activat VC present the initial findings of a study on corporate innovation in Kazakhstan. Leading banks, telecom, and FMCG companies in the country are ready to collaborate with startups but face a shortage of personnel, communication barriers, and internal priorities. Why do corporations prefer partnerships over creating venture funds, and how will this change the market in the coming years? The full report will be available in October at Digital Bridge!

Published 2 min read

Anuar Lensat, Founder of RS Bootcamp, Investor Relations Manager at Activat VC

The venture studio RS Bootcamp is conducting research on corporate innovation in Kazakhstan. The sample includes leading banks, telecom, and FMCG companies. Preliminary results have already been obtained, and the full report will be published in early October.

The goal of the research is to popularize corporate innovation and foster interaction between corporations and startups. We see that the venture market is growing, and the quality of startups is improving. However, we would like to see more institutional players willing to work systematically with startups.

According to preliminary research data:

— all surveyed companies expressed readiness to work with startups in one form or another
— most corporations do not plan to create separate structures for interaction, limiting themselves to partnerships, pilots, and vendor relationships
— two new corporate venture funds are expected to open within the next two years
— some top managers believe it is easier to reproduce a product than to buy a startup for tens of millions of dollars and take on the risks
— companies highlight a shortage of personnel and the need to address internal tasks before expanding cooperation with startups
— key barriers include communication difficulties and insufficient competence among founders.

The final results of the research promise to provide a more complete picture of how the country's largest corporations view innovation and which formats of interaction with startups will be most in demand in the coming years.

It is also worth noting that if corporations begin to participate in the broader venture game, everyone can win — funds and angels may achieve exits, startups may gain resources, clients, and exits, and corporations may achieve leadership in specific market segments and acquire new products. At Activat VC today, we are more inclined to invest in B2B startups backed by corporations rather than those without such backing, as it is important to understand the potential for exits. Therefore, it is crucial to develop corporate innovation and allocate more resources, attention, and time to this area.