Lomtadze of Kaspi.kz reveals his plan of geographical expansion
Eastern Europe and Uzbekistan have the potential for further expansion of Kaspi.kz, Mikhail Lomtadze, CEO and co-owner of the fintech company told Miguel Armaza, fintech investor and podcast host during New York Fintech Week.
«We are thinking about entering markets bigger than Kazakhstan. These include Eastern Europe; this region is very interesting for us; Asian markets are also attractive and Uzbekistan. This is a big market and it is very close to Kazakhstan, which is also very attractive,» Lomtadze said.
In Kazakhstan, roughly 15 million people use Kaspi.kz out of a population of 20 million. According to Lomtadze, the company’s executives want Kaspi.kz services to reach 100 million people.
«I know there is a lot of new growth opportunities for us on the local level [in Kazakhstan]. Kazakhstan is our home market and we will always be focused on introducing innovations and rendering high-quality services for our citizens,» Lomtadze said.
He is convinced that Kaspi.kz can operate anywhere. However, the company is still based in Kazakhstan where a local team of IT experts can enjoy a supportive work environment. At the same time, Lomtadze believes that Kaspi.kz would be capable of successfully competing in the U.S., China, Brazil or any other market in the world.
«We believe that we have something valuable to export from this country. The first thought that pops up into people’s minds when they hear the word Kazakhstan is oil. However, we are convinced that Kaspi can present Kazakhstan as a country promoting innovations our company has been successfully implementing for years. But we are thinking about entering other markets, that’s for sure. We are reviewing them to see what markets meet our requirements in terms of mobile communication, cashless transactions, e-commerce and so on,» the CEO of Kaspi.kz said.
Among the major shareholders of Kaspi.kz are Baring Vostok (24.34%), Mikhail Lomtadze (21.53%) and Vyacheslav Kim (20.39%). The company’s shares are traded on KASE, while American depository shares (ADS) of Kaspi are available on Nasdaq. In January 2024, the company went public on the American exchange after the current shareholders sold part of their stocks and gained $1 billion.
In March, Kaspi.kz delisted its ADS and global depository receipts (GDR) from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) due to low trading volumes on the exchange. According to the group, costs and administrative burden were way higher than any benefits from the listing. What made things worse was the limited liquidity of ADS and GDR on the LSE. Kaspi.kz went public on the LSE in October 2020. At the time, the company’s shareholders sold 15% of their shares, earning $1 billion.
