Almaty aims to become a regional esports capital

Esports has been growing in popularity in Kazakhstan recently / Photo: Shutterstock, photo editor: Arthur Aleskerov

Almaty authorities want the city to become the main hub for esports and the gaming industry in Central Asia. To achieve this goal, they are implementing the Almaty Cyber Games (ACG) project, according to Almaty’s digitalization department.

The department reported that Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Digital Development has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Georgian sports broadcaster Setanta, whose TV channels air major international sporting events.

As of late August 2022, Setanta was owned by Temur Ugulava’s Adjara Group of Georgia, according to Ukrainian Forbes. Public information on Ugulava is limited, but the Ukrainian outlet referred to him as a hotel tycoon. Adjara Group acquired 100% of Setanta Sports from its Irish owners in 2021, relocating the head office and TV production from Dublin to Tbilisi.

«The ACG project has attracted the global technology company Logitech and is working with Tencent Games to integrate it into the Almaty market. Under the project, universities in the city have launched academic programs in gaming and esports, training over 70 students to enter the industry,» the department stated.

Since the beginning of the year, Almaty’s startup and IT ecosystems have attracted $5 million in investments, leading to the creation of 217 new jobs. The Investment Readiness Accelerator (IRA) program has completed two of its three rounds, offering various opportunities to entrepreneurs:

Investments of up to $500,000 from the MOST Ventures fund for potential startup deals;
Mentorship from a personal angel investor;
Significant growth potential;
Preparation of startups for investment.

The digitalization department considers the IRA program to be one of the most in-demand in Central Asia. Startups from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are eligible to participate. The latest round saw 42 startups taking part.

In mid-July, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev presented the draft Artificial Intelligence (AI) Development Concept through 2029. The concept includes creating five Kazakhstani «unicorn» companies (startups valued at over $1 billion), increasing IT exports to $5 billion and the annual implementation of at least 25 AI products across various economic sectors.