As of January 2020, there are 1,325,615 small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) operating in Kazakhstan, most of which are based in Almaty (191 thousand), Nur-Sultan (134 thousand) as well as Almaty and Turkestan regions. The North-Kazakhstan and West-Kazakhstan regions are home to the smallest number of SMB – 29.8 thousand and 42.5 thousand enterprises, respectively.
According to https://strategy2050.kz/ru/news/kak-malyy-i-sredniy-biznes-vliyaet-na-konkurentosposobnost-kazakhstana/, factors that affect the number of small and medium-sized enterprises include: geographical location, population, general economic situation, level of business activity and many other factors.
According to the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs Atameken, more than 800 thousand SMBs have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions imposed by the authorities. Now that coronavirus restrictions have been lifted, more than 500 thousand enterprises are gradually resuming work.
The COVID-19 crisis has affected every entrepreneur in the country. To support small and medium-sized businesses during the post-quarantine period, Kcell has implemented the Business Marathon project.
Six finalists passed the qualifying round. During the project they have got advice from business coach Alexander Savelyev and activated the services offered by Kcell to its business customers. In the course of the project, entrepreneurs talked about how the coronavirus affected their business, applied the advice they received and used the services from Kcell.
The project has come to an end, however Kcell decided to continue supporting SMBs by launching the LifeHacker column of useful tips on its website. Here experienced businessmen and those who just started their own business can find useful articles and information on useful services and to learn how not to drown in the information overload and get practical content.
