We compiled a list of tech entrepreneurs who make a significant impact on the IT industry in Central Asia and the Caucasus. If you're looking to develop projects in these regions and need strong experts and niches to scale, this IT people atlas is for you.
Kazakhstan
Magzhan Madiyev is the CEO and founder of Astana Hub, an international startup technopark, and co-founder of the popular Kazakhstan marketplace, Naimi.kz.
Madiyev has created an innovative ecosystem in Kazakhstan to support startups. This ecosystem has been successful in its development. Under his leadership, Astana Hub has become the leading high-tech cluster in Kazakhstan, influencing the development of the nation's IT industry.
Magzhan Madiyev was an adviser to the Chairman of the Board of the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan "Atameken" on digitalization, as well as an expert of the Digital Office of the Presidential Administration under the Adviser to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan on digitalization and innovation.
Pavel Koktyshev, CEO at the Fintech Hub of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC)
Under the leadership of Koktyshev, the AIFC became the country's fastest-growing FinTech and GovTech ecosystem in 2020, according to Startup Genome. The Hub is continually growing its reach, helping to drive the nation's tech industry as a whole.
Doszhan Zhussupov, CEO at CEREBRA.ai
Cerebra is AI technology that enables stroke diagnosis within 10 minutes. The company is already operating in the international market. In July 2022, Johnson & Johnson named Cerebra the best startup in Asia.
Mirat Akhmetsadykov, Managing Partner at MOST Ventures, Head of UMAY Angels Club
Mirat is a pioneer of Kazakhstan's start-up movement and is actively developing the venture capital market in Central Asia. As an investor, Mirat specializes in startups located in Kazakhstan and Central Asia.
Alim Khamitov, CEO at MOST Ventures/Business-incubator MOST, co-founder of MOST Holding and UMAY Angels Club, expert on startup ecosystem development
He has been actively developing the startup ecosystem of Kazakhstan and Central Asia for over a decade. He is an official facilitator of numerous startup weekends in the region, a mentor, and a speaker at various technology conferences.
Marat Tolibayev is the founder and CEO of Activat VC. He develops the ecosystem, the culture of venture investing in his country and actively cooperates with foreign initiatives.
Tolibayev's holding invests in profitable companies at the idea stage and already operating product. For today the Holding unites more than 20 companies in the spheres of IT, construction, services. The holding invests not only financial resources, but also intellectual ones: mentoring, training, professional support.
Uzbekistan
Akmal Paiziev is a successful tech entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Newmax Technologies
His company develops services such as MyTaxi, Express24, Workly, Maxtrack, CityTaxi, SmartHome Uzbekistan, and Biotrack.
Iskandar Ganiboev, Iskandar Ganiboev, CEO at Workly (HR and time management system)
He runs one of the most rapidly expanding startups in Uzbekistan. In 2022, several of Uzbekistan's top financial institutions began using the service, resulting in a 50% growth for the company.
Farkhod Ibragimov, founder of IT Park Uzbekistan
He spearheaded the launch of several high-profile projects for young ICT professionals. Every major IT startup in Uzbekistan is linked to the IT Park, which is being developed under the leadership of Ibrahimov. Uzbekistan-based startups in the fields of payment systems, edtech, and agrotech are all residents of the IT Park.
Bobir Akilkhanov is a tech entrepreneur, investor, blogger, and the founder of BA Tech Academy. He is also the first Uzbek to join the Forbes Technology Council.
Akilkhanov, the founder of numerous IT startups, has been living in the USA since 2016. He hosts a blog about IT in Uzbek, which motivates and inspires Uzbek subscribers to create and develop their own IT projects.
Kyrgyzstan
Aman Tentiyev, Founder of Namba Group
He was named Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2021 KSSDA Awards, the first international award ceremony of its kind.
Tentiyev's Namba One service aims to become a one-stop platform for payments in Kyrgyzstan. Today, customers can already pay for services, order a taxi, food from a cafe, and goods from Namba Market, which can be delivered within 15 minutes. Additionally, the Namba One platform offers a call-out service for electricians, plumbers, and housekeepers.
Chubak Temirov, Head of the High-Tech Park of the Kyrgyz Republic
Chubak Temirov is the Acting Director of the High Technology Park (HTP) of the Kyrgyz Republic. In addition to managing the park, he actively participates in attracting international and local IT companies to HTP and provides consulting services for joining the park. He regularly supports HTP residents and their products by creating connections with local and international partners, investors, and entrepreneurs.
Azis Abakirov, founder of the Hi-Tech Park of Kyrgyzstan, the Kyrgyz Software and Services Developers' Association and IT Academy
He founded one of the nation's pioneering tech companies.
In 2008, he founded the Kyrgyz Software and Services Developers' Association (KSSDA), which he led for 12 years.
He was a member of the Presidential Council on Digital Transformation until April 18, 2019, when he resigned at his own request.
Last year, the Kyrgyzstan Software and Services Development Association (KSSDA) initiated the "50,000 Programmers – One Family – One Programmer" project, which seeks to provide IT training to vulnerable populations in Kyrgyzstan.
Armenia
Hovhannes Avoyan is a serial entrepreneur, investor and scientist, co-founder and CEO of PicsArt photo and video editing service valued at $1.5 billion.
PicsArt is a unicorn startup with a valuation of over $1 billion. PicsArt has become an exporter of technology for Armenia. The PicsArt app has been downloaded over one billion times and has more than 150 million monthly active users.
Avoyan promotes the growth of artificial intelligence in Armenia, establishing schools and standards to ensure that Armenia's IT industry can compete on a global level. Hovhannes Avoyan advocates for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence education and has authored numerous works on AI.
Karén Khachikyan, CEO at Robin the Robot
He is an entrepreneur in robotics and a leader who encourages innovation and drives growth in highly competitive global markets. He founded Expert Technologies with the mission to empower humanity through transformative technologies in the healthcare industry. Robin the Robot has been recognized as a "2021 Times Magazine Best Invention of the Year"
Georgia
Nino Gvazava is the CEO of High-Tech Solutions Ltd., which provides a wide range of IT services.
HT Solutions is the pioneering company in the Georgian market that assists enterprises in implementing DevOps solutions and methodologies. Gvazava is an expert in various automation solutions used by leading Georgian and foreign companies in their DevOps cycles.
George Chumashvili, CEO at Tnet
He took the initiative to bring together and create a unified ecosystem that would connect all electronic platforms in the country under one Tnet service. Under his leadership, the united ecosystem's user base has grown to 2 million people, with 70% of Georgia's population using the service daily.
We have compiled the list of key IT-sphere personalities the way we see it. In Central Asia and the Caucasus, many other experts and specialists have made significant contributions to the IT industry's development.
If you'd like to add someone else to this list, please share their details in the comments. It'll be helpful for us and our readers.
*The photos in the article were sourced from open sources on the internet.