Alisher SATYBALDIYEV, Head of the Entrepreneurship and Investment Department of Almaty:
– Small and medium-sized businesses form the majority of the city's economy (57.5%) and are its foundation. As of June 1, 2025, 382.7 thousand operating SMEs were registered in the city. Compared to the same period in 2024, there is an increase of 8.9%. In 2024, the volume of SME output amounted to 24,878.7 billion tenge..
For the further development of small and medium-sized businesses in the city, a wide range of financial and non-financial support tools are used to create new jobs.
In 2025, 70 billion tenge was allocated from the budget to subsidize, guarantee and lend to SMEs in Almaty, including 52.8 billion tenge from the local budget and 17.2 billion tenge from the republican budget. Thus, as of June 1, 2025, 440 projects worth 61.3 billion tenge were supported.
Within the framework of a Single comprehensive program, 303 projects worth 50.7 billion tenge were financed through subsidizing and guaranteeing instruments. The total budget of the program in 2025 amounted to 31.8 billion tenge.
According to the regional program "Almaty Business - 2025", 34 projects totaling 4.2 billion tenge were financed this year at the expense of the "revolving" funds of the previous period.
Within the framework of the regional Jana Business program, concessional lending is carried out jointly with DAMU Entrepreneurship Development Fund JSC in the amount of up to 100 million tenge (for small industrial parks – 500 million tenge, the loan term is up to 7 years) the rate is 7%.
In order to increase the efficiency of trading operations, the Jana Business program provides for the possibility of financing factoring transactions at a rate of 9.5% per annum. In 2025, 1 billion tenge was allocated from the local budget for the implementation of the instrument, and 2 billion tenge is planned to be allocated from the funds of the DAMU Entrepreneurship Development Fund JSC. Since the beginning of 2025, 103 projects worth 6.4 billion tenge have been supported.
The city is successfully developing a program of small industrial parks, which is of interest due to its preferential conditions. Investments in their development have now amounted to 5.6 billion tenge, 1,554 jobs have been created.
This year, it is planned to introduce eight MPas with a total area of 39.2 thousand square meters. m with the creation of 1,115 jobs.
At the same time, the Almaty Entrepreneurship and Investment Department is actively working to develop social entrepreneurship and attract investment. Today, megapolis is one of the most investment-attractive regions of Kazakhstan and has all the necessary labor and infrastructure resources. For 5 months of 2025, investments in fixed assets in the city amounted to 714.4 billion tenge. Of these, private investments increased by 7.9% and amounted to 557.5 billion tenge.
At the same time, the manufacturing industry has been identified as a priority in the city, which produced products worth 783.5 billion tenge in 5 months of this year with an increase of 16.2%. Its growth is directly related to the expansion of the Industrial Zone, the development of the FEZ and the creation of new industrial parks in Almaty.
In addition, state support in the city is provided to creative industries, which are identified as one of the priority sectors for diversifying and ensuring sustainable growth of the city's economy, according to the Almaty Development Program until 2025 and medium-term prospects until 2030.
All measures of state support in the city have positive socio-economic consequences in the form of new jobs and tax revenues. The Akimat of the city will continue to work on creating a favorable business environment and increasing the investment attractiveness of the city.
A source: Vecher.kz