What results did the international IT company Kolesa Group achieve in 2022, and what are their plans for 2023?

Ksenia Toropova, HR Director at Kolesa Group, LinkedIn

About the Company

Kolesa Group is an international IT company founded in Kazakhstan. Established in 1996, we have been in the market for 26 years. Over the years, the company has transformed from a classifieds newspaper into a product-oriented IT giant. We are one of the few profitable IT companies in Kazakhstan, ready to invest in other projects.

Technology, data, and user experience are the three pillars on which we base the creation of our products.

Specifically:

— we develop products using the latest technologies

— we make decisions based on data

— we make the user experience convenient and understandable.

The company’s mission is to help people sell and buy by creating the best products. The total monthly audience is 13.4 million people in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

We are a product-oriented IT company with three main platforms: Kolesa.kz, Krisha.kz, and Avtoelon.uz. Our product, Market.kz, recently integrated with the Kaspi ecosystem and became Kaspi Classifieds.

Users see a classifieds website that is easy to use. Under the hood, however, lies a multitude of business solutions for both users and businesses: developers, banks, car dealerships, and others.

All of this is built by 470 people, 50% of whom are product teams with developers, designers, and analysts. Kolesa Group has a matrix management structure, which helps us remain flexible, avoid bureaucracy, and find the best ideas.

We have a strong corporate culture with 10 core values, and we respect numbers and deadlines. Moreover, we love constantly changing, improving, and experimenting.

A culture of experimentation allows us to use different frameworks and approaches in product development and change processes. But most importantly for us are strong people ready to move mountains together.

2022 Results

We are proud that none of the upheavals of 2022 affected our plans.

1. Successful internal startups

In 2022, the company’s core business strengthened the growth of internal products: “Krysha Agents,” “New Cars,” and “Spare Parts.”

A high level of project management, constant research, a refined product approach, and startup audacity allow us to achieve super results.

2. Educational programs: Kolesa Academy and Kolesa Upgrade

In March-April, we conducted paid internships through Kolesa Academy for data analysts, PHP developers, and HR managers. In June-July, we held them for junior iOS developers. In total, 250 people went through our Academy. Thanks to it, we fill up to 40% of the company’s IT vacancies.

In November, the online course Kolesa Upgrade on backend development was completed. In total, over 360 specialists completed online courses in IT specialties. 94% of our graduates stay and continue to work in IT. Each cohort of Kolesa Upgrade costs the company from 2 to 6 million tenge.

3. Networking. Organization of Kolesa Conf and external meetups

We create and support the IT community in Kazakhstan. Through organizing dozens of thematic meetups for 100-150 people and narrow conferences on web and mobile development, we came to organizing Kolesa Conf. This is an annual conference for developers, startup founders, QA engineers, data specialists, managers, system administrators, and other representatives of the IT community.

At Kolesa Conf 2022, 46 speakers presented, over 800 viewers attended in person, and over 5,000 unique viewers watched online. Organizing Kolesa Conf 2022 cost us 22 million tenge in total for offline and online events.

Monthly, we gather more than 150 people offline and more than 300 people online at meetups, where we discuss practical cases in IT fields. We also work with students.

4. Large-scale studies on in-demand IT professions in Kazakhstan

In 2022, we conducted two studies: on the market for developers and product managers. We surveyed several hundred respondents via social media, media outlets, professional chats, and our internal database. These studies are needed so that Kazakhstani specialists can build their careers based on data.

5. Re-launch of “Code and Coffee” — a podcast about the Kazakhstani IT scene

We resumed our own podcast: two seasons have already been released, and the fourth is currently ongoing. “Code and Coffee” has a new format — video. And a new host — Kristina Abdramova. The podcast helps understand what is happening in the IT market, what needs to be known and mastered, and dispels popular stereotypes about the field.

Plans for 2023

We will continue to grow and develop the company’s products. We will also develop the Kazakhstani IT market through —

— educational programs: Kolesa Academy and Kolesa Upgrade

— external meetups and the IT conference: Kolesa Conf

— hosting the “Code and Coffee” podcast.

Advice for 2023

Invest in the education and development of people.