Beyond profits: Ranking Central Asia’s tech giants by tax contribution

Kursiv Research ranked Kazakhstan’s IT companies by taxes paid in 2024, a method chosen since developers in the country aren’t required to disclose their financial statements publicly.

Unlike developed markets, Kazakhstan has few medium and large IT firms, none listed on an exchange, and the sector remains early-stage.

The ranking divides participants into two distinct groups, based on their tax regimes.

The first group consists mainly of IT divisions of major corporations that operate under the general tax regime. These firms, often established as separate legal entities, now face incentives to relocate or qualify for the Astana Hub due to the technopark’s significant tax advantages for its residents.

The second group includes mostly subsidiaries of international IT giants and other companies that are officially registered as Astana Hub residents and therefore benefit from its favorable tax regime.

Top 10 Kazakhstani IT companies (outside Astana Hub)

Business & Technology Services (BTS) leads non-Astana Hub developers with a 2024 tax contribution of 5.8 billion tenge ($12.5 million), up 30% from 2023. Founded in 2009, it is owned by five Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) companies and focuses on digitizing ERG operations.

Aim High Technology, registered in November 2023 and led by Temirlan Toguzbayev, ranks second after paying about $11 million in taxes.

7Generation paid nearly $3.5 million in taxes, a 72% increase year-on-year, making it the fastest-growing non-Astana Hub IT firm.

Top 10 Kazakhstani IT companies (Astana Hub residents)

Among Astana Hub residents, all three top companies were new to the ranking. BCC-HUB, set up by Bank CenterCredit in early 2024 to develop IT solutions for finance, led with about $3.8 million in taxes, making it the technopark’s largest contributor this year.

Netcracker Technology Kazakhstan ranks second. Having entered the local market in mid-2022, the company quickly gained momentum. In 2024, it paid nearly $3.5 million in taxes, a 153% increase from the previous year.

Its rapid growth stems from its link to U.S.-based Netcracker Technology, which delivers IT systems to telecom providers worldwide. Since 2008, Netcracker has been owned by Japan’s NEC Corporation, a pioneer in telephony and radio, now a leader in global telecom equipment, AI and biometrics.

Arctera rounds out the top three, contributing $2.8 million in taxes and showing 103% year-on-year growth. Unlike the previous companies, Arctera’s specialization is unclear, as it lacks a corporate website. However, its director, Malik Kulmamirov, is a seasoned IT entrepreneur. According to Kompra.kz, he previously headed the Astana branch of the Tinkoff Development Center and now manages several small IT firms, including VostokTech and Injuu.

Meanwhile, the title of overall growth champion across both groups went to QazCode, a subsidiary of Beeline Kazakhstan, a telecom operator. In 2024, QazCode paid $1.6 million in taxes, representing a 281% increase from the previous year, and earned fourth place in the ranking.

Two years ago, Beeline spun off its IT division into a standalone company. QazCode initially maintained its parent’s infrastructure, but quickly emerged as a market contender, serving external and international clients. This evolution now drives its latest innovation.

In collaboration with Nazarbayev University’s Institute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence and Astana Hub, QazCode rolled out KazLLM, the first generative AI model in the Kazakh language. The innovation was showcased to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in December 2024.