Samruk-Kazyna, Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund, plans to purchase two hotels to accommodate IT specialists from countries whose citizens face difficulties obtaining visas to the U.S. and European Union, according to Nurlan Zhakupov, CEO of the fund.
«We are implementing a project called NetworkSchool. We will open a network school in Kazakhstan and purchase premises — two hotels — so that IT specialists from different countries can be based there. We plan to attract strong IT specialists with high IQs and weak passports,» he said during Astana Finance Days 2026.
According to Zhakupov, the hotels will accommodate IT specialists from countries whose citizens currently face difficulties obtaining visas to the U.S. and EU countries because of recent political changes.
Read also: Trump administration’s massive 75-nation visa halt visualized.
«An investor can use Kazakhstan as a safe and comfortable jurisdiction, just like Dubai. We have good infrastructure. Unlike Dubai, however, it’s not as hot in Astana in the summer, and in the winter you’ll have to wear jackets. But overall, the idea is to attract the best IT talent from other countries,» Zhakupov said.
Business model
The head of the national wealth fund said the investor would help place the IT specialists with major technology companies and generate revenue through three streams: accommodation and housing, commissions from technology companies, and the creation of IT startups.
Zhakupov did not specify how many people the two hotels could accommodate or how many foreign IT specialists the national holding company expects to attract overall.
Kazakhstan’s IT export ambitions
Kazakhstan has previously set a goal of significantly increasing exports of IT services, with attracting skilled specialists from abroad identified as one way to help achieve it.
Read also: Kazakhstan launches new ‘Golden Visa’ to attract global experts.
By the end of 2025, Kazakhstan had exported $1.142 billion worth of domestic IT services. The country aims to increase that figure to $5 billion by 2030, nearly a fivefold increase.
