Juzzim is a social network aimed at preserving the traditions of the peoples of Central Asia.

Rymbek Zhykipbayev, Business Partner of Juzzim Group

About the Startup

The startup idea emerged in 2018 and was nurtured for several years. In early 2022, we assembled a team of developers and, through joint efforts, created this product. We launched it on iOS, Android, and Web. The main goal of the Juzzim social network is to promote national ideas, preserve traditions, and rituals.

We do not intend to limit ourselves to only the Kazakh people. After all, if you study the genealogy of any person, you will find roots of various ethnic groups. Preserving ethnic folk connections is important.

The service features a distinctive function: a genealogical tree. Within the unified Juzzim ecosystem, by selecting your nationality, you can create your own family tree. In the future, we would like to develop it to intersect with other peoples and nations, allowing users to build trees not only through the paternal line but also through the maternal line.

Among Kazakhs, there is a concept called "tektilik," meaning purity of blood. When a man wants to marry a woman, they first check if there are any intersections up to the seventh generation. This is important not only from the perspective of traditions but also from the standpoint of the gene pool. Because of this, a representative of the Astana IT Institute approached us with a proposal to include a detailed DNA function in the service to compare the DNA of both partners and check for any intersections. We are currently in the negotiation stage and exploring further cooperation with them.

How We Started

Initially, when TOO USH JUZ Group made the offer to develop the application, everything was in a draft form and outlined on paper. Later, we discussed everything with both the development team and the clients.

First, we spent two months gathering information and creating the technical specifications, designing, and preparing the application for operation.

Currently, our team consists of 10 people: back-end and front-end developers, iOS and Android developers, testers, and designers. If we look at it from the perspective of creating a social network, we would need many more people. However, at the initial stage, we decided to limit ourselves to a small group of experienced specialists.

To bring the service to market as soon as possible, we rushed the development. We managed to create the application from scratch in six months, and we succeeded.

Target Audience of the Startup

Our target audience is all of Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and all countries where the concepts of generations, seven grandfathers, and genealogy are more developed.

The Juzzim social network covers the functionality of existing social networks such as Instagram, WhatsApp, and Telegram. That is, the application will allow communication through chats and voice messages. Video conferencing is also planned to be added. Currently, there is already the ability to publish posts, similar to Instagram. In the future, we want to integrate Reels.

All of this requires an increase in the development team and the availability of service infrastructure. At our current stage, implementing such a large-scale project is difficult. If we launch the service, the audience will start to grow. For the application to work reliably, significant infrastructure and support are needed, including from the state. We believe this is a good opportunity not only for us but also for the country. For example, the social network can store personal data within the country's borders and serve as a good taxpayer.

Seeking Investments

We recently began seeking investments.

On February 2-3, we presented the application at the Startup Alley during our participation in the International Digital Forum Digital Almaty, where investors showed interest in us. The project was also presented to the Minister of Digital Development, Bagdat Batyrbekovich Musin.

We have also submitted applications to participate in acceleration programs and venture funds. We are currently in the review stage.

Plans for 2023

We have a business plan for next year. Our main goal right now is to refine the application based on all the tests conducted and our understanding of what we need to strive for. We want to add many interesting features, scale up, and expand the team.

In September, we will launch a broad PR campaign and advertising through media outlets and bloggers. We plan to collect feedback and further improve the application.