How to Find and Attract an Investor in Kazakhstan in 2025
Today's market in Kazakhstan demands agility when it comes to scaling your business: beyond a strong team and product, this requires capital and financing. When raising investment, it is important not just to find it, but to prepare your business, identify the types of investors and be able to present your project effectively (apply to Activat.VC).
1. Preparing Your Business to Raise Investment
Before approaching investors, you need to make sure that the legal, marketing and financial components of your business are in good order.
Financial reporting: To protect themselves, investors expect transparent reporting and metrics. The minimum set includes CAC (customer acquisition cost), LTV (customer lifetime value), MRR and ARR (monthly and annual recurring revenue), and retention rate (user retention). These figures should not only be calculated but also backed by an accounting system.
Legal structure: A startup should have a clear form of ownership (most often an LLP, less often a JSC), formally registered shareholdings and intellectual property (IP) rights. For deals with foreign investors, many companies re-register in the jurisdiction of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), which applies common law.
Marketing: your pitch should also show realistic future prospects for your business — what customer need your product addresses and how scalable the business is overall.
Abai Absametov, Managing Partner of Silkroad Angels Club, highlights the importance of choosing jurisdictions with a transparent legal system when structuring deals:
Preparing a pitch acts as a kind of filter and helps you honestly answer one question for yourself: “Is my project ready for negotiations?”
2. Types of Investors in Kazakhstan
To attract the most suitable investor, you need to understand the different types of investors and how they approach deals:
Venture funds: for example, QazTech Ventures under the Ministry of Digital Development, as well as other funds, including private ones, where entrepreneurs can find financial support. Astana Hub deserves a special mention: startups gain access to tax incentives, international mentorship programs and opportunities to enter foreign markets.
Business angels: private investors driven by personal interest. The format is less formal than with venture funds: much is built on verbal agreements and personal relationships, but it is also a great opportunity to gain mentorship and connections. A good example is the Kazakhstan Association of Business Angels (CABAN).
Corporate investors: The practice of strategic investment is gradually gaining momentum in Kazakhstan. Large companies in banking, telecommunications and retail increasingly view startups as a source of new, ready-made technologies and solutions. For example, Freedom Holding Corp. invested in the payment service PayBox (now Freedom Pay) and the HR startup EasyTap.
3. Platforms and Tools for Finding Investors
Modern online tools can make finding investors much easier, so you do not have to rely solely on your own contact list.
Startups targeting global markets can use platforms such as AngelList, Crunchbase or Gust, where they can reach business angels and venture funds directly. However, international platforms require a high-quality English-language pitch, transparent metrics and readiness to undergo due diligence.
Local resources are also actively developing in Kazakhstan. They include Astana Hub Dealroom, which brings startups and investors together in a single database, the QazAngels business angel network, and the AIX and KASE platforms, where more mature companies can raise capital through public offerings and attract the attention of potential investors.
Nevertheless, personal connections still play a key role. Taking part in major forums such as Digital Bridge, as well as in Astana Hub pitch sessions, helps you meet potential investors directly and discuss the prospects of cooperation one-on-one.
4. Networking and Investment Events
Either way, ordinary communication and networking remain the most effective methods. The most important venues for making connections are the international Astana Finance Days forum and the New Vision business forum, which bring together not only venture funds but also representatives of corporations and foreign investors. It is important to build connections among major businesspeople and entrepreneurs to increase your chances of securing their investment. Such events allow you to build reputational capital and strengthen your network.
5. Creating a Compelling Investment Proposal
Your pitch should include unit economics metrics such as CAC, LTV and retention rate, as well as a clear expansion strategy. Investors value concrete business plans and clear evidence of the team's quality. A pitch deck should cover all the key aspects with no fluff. The more clearly the product and its advantages are articulated, the higher the chance of securing funding.
👉 In its guide, Bank of America notes:
“Investors want to see a clearly articulated proposition: how well the product solves the problem, what the go-to-market strategy is, and what return on investment can be expected.”
6. How Kazakhstani Investors Select Projects
As we have mentioned several times, a project's potential is assessed by the following criteria: the feasibility of the idea and consumer demand, the clarity of the business model and the transparency of metrics. It is very important to show your advantages over competitors: what makes you more promising?
Of course, the team's skills, the quality of accounting and a clear strategy are also taken into account.
7. Success Stories in Raising Investment
Examples of successful investment in Kazakhstan include the case of Chocofamily, which raised more than $15 million from international funds. The Almaty-based Clockster also succeeded as an HR platform with the support of Astana Hub and Ozim Platform, which combined grant and private funding. These cases show that local startups can attract both global and local investors, provided they offer transparency, product value and scaling potential.
8. Useful Resources
Kazakhstan already has an established infrastructure for raising investment. Astana Hub provides access to networking and international partners, while MOST Ventures and QazTech Ventures provide access to funding and mentorship. At the global level, Crunchbase and Dealroom can help, as can the Techstars and 500 Global programs, which open the way to the global ecosystem.
In conclusion, finding investors is not a simple task for a single evening, but one that requires a comprehensive approach: financial preparation, strategic marketing and building trusting, win-win relationships with investors. Today, the success of your project depends on your ability to combine global practices with the realities of the local market.
