IT community from Central Asia: KZ Data Community

Ekaterina Rekhert, city — Almaty, founder of DataBoom, KZ Data Community, Instagram

About the Community

Our community was established on February 23, 2019 — and, to be honest, I didn’t think it would grow into anything significant at the time. It was simply an idea, a desire, and a specific need that I witnessed firsthand.

I had returned from the United States, where I worked at Microsoft, and one thing struck me. There, any specialist — junior, senior, it didn’t matter — could attend a meetup, ask questions, find a mentor, receive honest feedback, and all of this was free. It was just part of the culture: sharing knowledge is normal, helping others is normal. This didn’t exist in Kazakhstan. Good specialists were present, but everyone worked in isolation. There was no shared space.

We started small: we assembled a team of volunteers, began hosting free masterclasses and meetups, and published information about job vacancies and salaries in the analytics field. The first 200 people joined on their own — they were enthusiasts who had been looking for something like this for a long time. That was when I realized the demand was real and enormous.

Today, KZ Data Community is a full-fledged ecosystem for everyone working with data in Kazakhstan: BI analysts, data scientists, data engineers, and beginners who are just choosing their path. We now have over 11,000 members. But the goal has remained unchanged since day one — to develop data culture in the country and make knowledge accessible to everyone, not just those who happened to be in the right place at the right time.

From the very beginning, it was crucial for me that the community not just be a “hobby group” — but that it solve real problems for real people. Because a person who wants to enter IT or advance in their profession usually faces three problems: lack of knowledge, lack of networking, and lack of understanding of where to go next. We strive to address all three.

Regarding knowledge — we freely publish guides for Microsoft certifications: Power BI, Excel, Azure, AI, and Python. Moreover, they are available in two languages: Russian and Kazakh.

Regarding careers — we have dedicated channels for job vacancies where top IT companies post their openings. This is not an aggregator from hh.kz; it is a live feed from real employers who trust our community.

Regarding networking — we organize live events: meetups, conferences, and job fairs. Because while online interaction is good, real connections are still forged in person, over a cup of coffee after a speaker’s presentation.

Community Members

Honestly, when you look at our members, you realize that the audience is very diverse — and that is precisely our strength.

There are students who are just choosing a profession and came just to see what data analytics is all about. There are specialists from related fields — financiers, marketers, economists — who want to add data skills to their toolkit because they understand that it is difficult to succeed without them today. There are experienced professionals — data scientists, BI analysts, data engineers — who come to communicate with peers, engage in discussions, and exchange new ideas.

I am particularly pleased when women join the community — especially from regions. This is the very audience for which I largely started all of this. Because in IT, there still exists the perception that it is “not for everyone.” That you need to live in Almaty, have a technical degree, and be male. This is not true, and we prove it every day.

Joining is simple: just go to our Telegram channels @kz_bi or @datakz, and you are already part of the community.

Events for Community Members

Our main annual event is the Data Community Birthday. It sounds like a birthday party, but in reality, it is already a full-fledged conference that brings together more than 500 people. Top experts from Kazakhstani and international companies speak, and a job fair takes place — allowing you to talk face-to-face with representatives of leading IT companies, banks, and FMCG firms. For many participants, this conversation becomes the start of a new career.

In parallel, we regularly host meetups — a more intimate format where you can truly dive deep into a topic. Power BI, Copilot, Artificial Intelligence, career tracks — each meetup focuses on something specific and useful.

This year, we launched a new initiative — the Data Awards. This is an award with nine nominations: from beginner analysts who have just entered the profession and are already showing results, to companies that are building a true data-driven approach at the business level. The applications were reviewed by a jury of strong practicing specialists — Data Scientists and Team Leads in Data Engineering. For me, this was important: in Kazakhstan, there are many great people and projects in the data field that simply go unnoticed. The Data Awards is a way to give them recognition. And this is only the first year.

All events are open to everyone — you do not need to be a community member. Anyone interested in data and AI can attend.

How the Community Helps with Development

I am not a technical specialist by education — I am a former ballerina and economist. When I joined Microsoft, imposter syndrome was my constant companion. And what really helped me were the people around me. Colleagues who explained complex things in simple language. Communities where you could ask a “stupid” question and receive a normal answer without judgment.

This is exactly what I wanted to create here. A place where it is not shameful not to know. Where an experienced specialist does not look down on a beginner but shares knowledge. Where information is not locked away for the chosen few.

In practice, this works like this: free certification guides give people a concrete tool to start and grow. In the chat, you can always ask a question and get an answer from those who are working in the industry right now. At meetups and conferences, connections are made that later turn into collaborations, mentorship, and joint projects.

And you know, what is the most honest indicator for me that this works? Dozens of people from our community have received offers from major banks, FMCG companies, and IT firms — precisely because of the contacts they made here. Someone met the right person at a job fair. Someone messaged a speaker privately after a meetup — and it turned into a job. The community knows how to connect people, and that is probably the most valuable thing we have.

Successful Projects

One of the most significant for us is our partnership with Microsoft Kazakhstan. We are not just an “officially affiliated community”; this is a live collaboration. Together, we organize Azure conferences and conduct educational activities. Over time, we have already held seven major conferences that collectively brought together more than 3,000 people.

Another example I am proud of is the certification guides. They might seem like simple PDF documents. But behind them lies significant work: we created them for free, in Russian and Kazakh, from scratch. Because it was important to us that a specialist from Shymkent or Ust-Kamenogorsk had exactly the same opportunities to prepare for an international Microsoft exam as someone living in Almaty.

Plans

There are many plans, and they all revolve around one thing — making the community deeper and more useful.

One important direction is to move beyond large halls. We want to host meetups in universities, in smaller rooms, in intimate spaces. Because sometimes 30 people and one strong speaker provide more value than a conference with 500 attendees. It is a different level of conversation, with the opportunity to truly ask a question and receive a detailed answer. We want students to feel connected to the industry from their first year of study, rather than learning about the profession only after graduation.

The second important direction is systematic collaborations with strong specialists. We want to attract experts from leading companies — data scientists, analysts, engineers — who are willing to share real practical experience with our audience. Not theoretical lectures, but live cases: how data work is structured within a specific company, what mistakes are made at the start, and what the market really needs right now.

We will develop and scale the Data Awards — the first year showed that the demand for recognition in our field is huge. And of course, we want to be more present in the regions — so that KZ Data Community is truly Kazakhstani, not just Almaty-based.

Globally, the goal has not changed since 2019: I want Kazakhstan to become a country of IT talent. And every person who finds their path in the profession through our community is a small step in that direction.

To join the community or propose cooperation, you can reach us via:
Telegram BI & Data: @kz_bi
Telegram Data Science & Engineering: @datakz
Jobs: @kz_bi_jobs and @datajobskz
Website: rekhert.com/community