Central Asia and Global Startups: What Keeps the Region from Building World-Class Unicorns
The Astana Times has published an article on a session held as part of GITEX AI Central Asia & Caucasus, dedicated to the development of Central Asia's startup ecosystem and the region's potential to build globally competitive companies.
The discussion featured Andrea Bohmert, Managing Partner at SBI Ventures; Murat Abdrakhmanov, founder of MA7; and Meirzhan Yessimkhanov, COO of Activat VC.
The central theme of the session was what the region's startups really need today to break into international markets. The participants discussed why a high valuation does not in itself mean global success, what barriers founders face when scaling, and why local product-market fit does not always work beyond the home market.
Meirzhan Yessimkhanov noted that one of the region's key challenges remains the combination of limited access to capital and an insufficient understanding of global markets:
“It is impossible to build a truly big success story on the capital available within the region alone. That is why startups need to reach out to international investors, but without a strong network and an understanding of the market, that is hard to do.”
The participants also discussed positive changes: startups from the region are increasingly attracting the attention of international funds and investors from Europe and the US, and Central Asia itself is gradually appearing on the global venture map.
The key takeaway of the session: for global companies to emerge, the region needs not only to expand access to capital, but also to foster an international mindset, strong teams, and products that are ready from the outset to scale beyond the local market.
Read the full article here:
