Kazakhstan–South Africa Business Seminar Reveals Expanding Horizons for Partnership
by Anisha Pemjee - TDS
17 November 2025
Kazakhstan’s emergence as a strategic hub for investment, innovation, and global connectivity took centre stage at a high-level business seminar in Pretoria, drawing together South African entrepreneurs, investors, and sector specialists. Hosted by the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in South Africa, in collaboration with Tayfin Royale Hotel and Conference Centre and the South Africa and Kazakhstan Trading and Cultural Association, the event highlighted the deepening economic synergies between the two nations.
Ambassador Yerkin Akhinzhanov delivered a keynote, blending history, economic insight, and an invitation to partnership. His message was clear: Kazakhstan is no longer simply a land in the heart of Eurasia, it is a rising frontier of opportunity, powered by stability, connectivity, and innovation.
Ambassador Akhinzhanov began with a philosophical reflection on Kazakhstan’s identity, “a young nation with an ancient soul” situated on the historic Silk Road where civilizations once converged.
“Kazakhstan was born bold,” he reflected, “a place where ideas, people, and cultures have always met.”
Interweaving culture and economic vision, he reminded South African business leaders that the world’s first domesticated apples originated in Kazakhstan's mountains, symbolising the country’s role in seeding global exchange centuries ago. That same spirit, he argued, defines today’s economic transformation.
In just over three decades of independence, Kazakhstan has evolved into Central Asia’s largest economy, with a GDP expected to surpass USD 330 billion by year-end and targeting USD 450 billion by 2029. More than USD 474 billion in foreign direct investment has flowed into the country, an achievement the Ambassador credited to three deliberate national choices:
1. Stability and Predictability
Kazakhstan has positioned itself as a dependable partner in an increasingly volatile global landscape. Modern judicial reforms, digitalised public services, and transparent regulation have placed the country at the top of multiple global indices for business attractiveness and FDI openness.
2. Openness to Global Markets
Its strategic location—between China, Russia, Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia—has become an advantage rather than a limitation. The Middle Corridor now moves goods from East Asia to Europe in as little as 15 days, with 80% of Eurasian east-west land cargo transiting Kazakhstan.
3. Investment in Human Capital and Innovation
Kazakhstan’s digital governance system ranks among the world’s best, and initiatives such as Astana Hub and the new Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development demonstrate its commitment to a tech-driven future.
While Kazakhstan remains a major global energy supplier, including the world’s largest producer of uranium, the country is rapidly diversifying into:
• Renewable energy
• Digital technologies and fintech
• Advanced manufacturing
• Biotechnology and pharmaceuticals
• Tourism and cultural heritage industries
• Critical minerals and rare earths
Ambassador Akhinzhanov highlighted the development of Kazakhstan’s Rare Earth Belt, including major deposits in Karaganda and East Kazakhstan that position the country as a significant player in clean-energy supply chains essential for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and advanced batteries.
Reforms such as the new international-standard Mining Code ensure transparency, stable taxation, and simplified licensing, creating investor confidence for global partners, including South African companies with mining, processing, and engineering expertise.
Kazakhstan’s 16 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and 55 Industrial Zones offer exceptional incentives:
• 0% corporate income tax
• 0% VAT
• 0% customs duties
• 0% land tax and property tax
• 25-year stability guarantees
• Free land allocation in select SEZs
• Streamlined visas and employment permits
Investors gain access to a market exceeding 500 million consumers across the Eurasian Economic Union and wider Central Asia.
In 2024 alone, over 8,000 African travellers, including more than 1,280 South Africans, visited Kazakhstan. Visa-free travel for 80 countries and a growing network of e-visas are helping to boost cultural exchange, adventure tourism, and heritage travel.
“Kazakhstan is not selling tourism, it is offering inspiration,” the Ambassador said, emphasising the nation’s vast landscapes, ecotourism potential, and spiritual heritage.
At the heart of Kazakhstan’s investment architecture is the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), which operates under English common law, a major draw for global investors wary of regulatory uncertainty.
With over 4,600 registered companies and nearly USD 17 billion raised through its ecosystem, the AIFC supports fintech, green finance, digital assets, arbitration, and cross-border capital flows. This offers South African investors a familiar and trusted legal environment.
The interactive Q&A session revealed strong South African appetite for collaboration across sectors.
The Roundtable demonstrated that Kazakhstan’s economic ambitions align naturally with South Africa’s capabilities in mining technology, engineering, fintech, medicine, tourism, and education. Both nations share a vision of diversified growth, global connectivity, and strengthening South-South cooperation.
Ambassador Akhinzhanov closed with a Kazakh proverb: “Choose the right companion, and your path will widen.”
With its stability, strategic location, and bold reform agenda, Kazakhstan is positioning itself as such a companion, offering South African business a long-term partnership built on trust, vision, and shared prosperity.