"Kazakhstan should become a place for technology creation, not just a market for their sale," — Olzhas Satiev on technological independence

According to Olzhas Satiev, strong local expertise is no longer enough. The next strategic priority is developing our own technologies, especially in areas critical to the state.

This does not mean closing the market to foreign players. On the contrary, international companies can become part of this process through joint ventures, R&D laboratories, and co-developing products with Kazakhstani specialists.

Olzhas Satiev, founder of TSARKA
We must move from using foreign technologies to creating our own. Kazakhstan already has strong engineers and competencies. Now it is important that our own products and technologies emerge on this foundation.

Today, Kazakhstan is not just interested in purchasing foreign solutions. We need partnerships where technologies and expertise are created within the country.

From foreign expertise to our own

Olzhas Satiev cites cybersecurity as an example of how much the market can change over 10 years.

Just 10 years ago, before the emergence of TSARKA, a significant portion of work in this field was performed by foreign specialists and companies. Today, about 95% of cybersecurity services are provided by citizens of Kazakhstan, and around 50 companies operate in the market.

During this time, a professional environment and local expertise have formed in the country. Now, a similar transition must occur at the level of technologies and products themselves.

A new model for international companies

Olzhas Satiev believes that along with the development of the local market, Kazakhstan's model of interaction with global technology companies should also change.

Instead of a "supplier-buyer" relationship, Kazakhstan can offer deeper partnerships: establishing joint ventures, opening local R&D centers, engaging Kazakhstani engineers, and developing technologies within the country.

In this model, Kazakhstan becomes not only a market for consuming technologies but also a place for their creation—with the potential for further export to other markets.

Olzhas Satiev, founder of TSARKA
For me, the question is simple: do we only want to buy technologies, or do we want to participate in their creation? We need international expertise. But it is much more interesting to combine it with our own and create products here, in Kazakhstan.

Technological independence as part of sovereignty

Olzhas Satiev views own technologies not only as an opportunity for the development of the IT industry.

In his opinion, Kazakhstan's long-term task is to create an environment where local engineering expertise turns into own technologies, and international players come to the country not only to sell ready-made solutions but also to create new ones together with local teams.

Olzhas Satiev, founder of TSARKA
Technological independence today is one of the elements of a country's sovereignty. The more critical technologies and competencies the state can create and control independently, the more resilient its political and economic independence becomes.