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Small Businesses in Kyrgyzstan Struggle With Expensive Loans and Border Delays

Small and medium-sized businesses now account for more than half of Kyrgyzstan’s economy, but entrepreneurs continue to face high borrowing costs, logistical bottlenecks and rising operating expenses, according to First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Daniyar Amangeldiev. According to Amangeldiev, the share of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the national economy has reached 51.7%, making the sector one of the country’s key drivers of employment and domestic demand. “The main obstacle at the moment is access to financing,” he said during a press conference in Bishkek. Amangeldiev noted that average lending rates in Kyrgyzstan remain at around 19-20%, while the profitability of many businesses does not exceed 15%. As a result, borrowed capital becomes prohibitively expensive, limiting companies’ ability to expand. The government is currently negotiating with the banking sector to reduce loan costs and has already allocated approximately $3.4 million to support small and medium-sized businesses. Authorities have also introduced interest-rate subsidies to expand entrepreneurs’ access to financing. In addition to expensive credit, businesses continue to face logistical and customs-related difficulties. According to Amangeldiev, delays in certification procedures and border clearance disrupt supply chains and reduce trade turnover. “While cargo remains stalled at the border, entrepreneurs’ financial resources are effectively frozen together with the goods,” he said. The government is placing particular emphasis on the agricultural sector, which remains one of the country’s largest employers. The Cabinet of Ministers has instructed financial institutions to accelerate loan issuance for agricultural producers, noting that the speed of capital turnover is critical for agribusiness operations. The Kyrgyz authorities are continuing efforts to bring more businesses out of the shadow economy. In 2024, the government abolished part of the voluntary patent-based trading system and required entrepreneurs, including small traders and some tax-exempt businesses, to use cash registers and digital fiscal systems. The reforms triggered resistance among some entrepreneurs. However, authorities argue that increasing transparency in trade is necessary to broaden the tax base and modernize the economy.

1 week ago

TCA Interviews

Interview: Kazakhstan Pushes Middle Corridor as Global Trade Routes Shift

As war, sanctions, and disruption reshape trade between Europe and Asia, Kazakhstan is trying to turn the Middle Corridor from an alternative route into a more predictable logistics system. The route, formally known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, links China and Central Asia with the Caspian Sea, the South Caucasus, Turkey, and Europe, bypassing Russia. For Kazakhstan, the project is both economic and geopolitical. It promises faster access to foreign markets, new transit revenue, and a stronger role for the country as a logistics hub between China and Europe. However, the corridor still faces practical constraints, including port capacity on the Caspian Sea, uneven digital systems, border procedures, tariffs, and coordination between several states and operators. The Times of Central Asia spoke with Alua Korpebayeva, Head of the Project Office for Transport and Logistics under the Presidential Administration of Kazakhstan, about what still needs to change and how Kazakhstan views the corridor’s long-term role. TCA: Why has the Middle Corridor become more urgent for Kazakhstan and Central Asia, and how much have the war in Ukraine and tensions around Iran and the Persian Gulf changed the calculation? Alua Korpebayeva: The government of Kazakhstan has assigned the national railway company, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, a strategic objective of increasing total transit volumes to 55 million tons by 2026, representing a 65% increase compared to last year. This target reflects the scale of the country’s ongoing transport transformation. Achieving this goal is closely tied to the development of the Middle Corridor. The route is especially important because it is becoming a foundation for stable and predictable supply chains in global trade. The Middle Corridor provides Central Asian countries with an opportunity to strengthen connectivity with both Europe and China while increasing the region’s role as an independent transport and logistics hub. Geopolitical factors have undoubtedly increased business interest in alternative routes. For Kazakhstan, however, development of the Middle Corridor is primarily part of a broader effort to expand transport capacity and improve logistical resilience. That is precisely why deeper regional cooperation is so important. Unlocking the corridor’s full potential requires close coordination among all participants, from infrastructure modernization and tariff harmonization to end-to-end digitalization and simplified customs procedures. The World Bank has noted that a fully functioning Middle Corridor could strengthen supply-chain resilience and, if accompanied by investment and efficiency measures, could triple freight volumes and cut transportation times in half by 2030. TCA: Are Kazakhstan and its partners moving toward unified transit rules and tariffs along the corridor? What has already been agreed, and where do gaps remain? Alua Korpebayeva: Work on creating unified transit rules and coordinated tariff policies is ongoing. The current focus is shifting from fragmented national tariffs toward a unified through-route pricing system across the corridor. Within the framework of the Action Plan for Eliminating Bottlenecks along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, signed by the railway administrations of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia, the parties agreed to establish a single long-term tariff for the route. In practical terms,...

1 week ago

AI in Education

AI in Kazakh Universities: Institutions Are Not Ready for the ChatGPT Era

AI in Kazakh universities is rapidly transforming higher education, but many institutions appear unprepared for how quickly such tools are becoming normalized in the academic process. While authorities increasingly urge educators to treat AI as a professional tool for the future workforce, universities continue spending tens of thousands of dollars on systems designed to detect texts generated by ChatGPT and similar AI models. By the spring of 2026, the use of generative AI in Kazakh universities had effectively become a new academic norm. Students now routinely use AI systems to write coursework, dissertations, and analytical papers. However, instead of fundamentally reconsidering how knowledge and competencies are assessed, universities are attempting to fit new technologies into an outdated, control-based educational model. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education has officially rejected the idea of banning generative AI outright. The ministry states that AI usage is acceptable as long as students adhere to principles of academic integrity and transparency. “Conceptually, the Ministry does not advocate for a complete ban on generative neural networks,” the Committee for Higher and Postgraduate Education said in its official position. This approach was formalized through the “Inter-University Standard for the Use of AI,” adopted in 2024. In 2025, authorities further reaffirmed their commitment to integrating AI into the education system, emphasizing that AI tools should be viewed primarily as instruments rather than threats. Universities Spend Tens of Thousands of Dollars on AI Detectors Despite the ministry’s position, universities across Kazakhstan have begun purchasing AI-detection systems. In the spring of 2025, the company Antiplagiat.Kazakhstan introduced an algorithm designed to detect AI-generated text, which state and national universities have subsequently begun to acquire on a large scale. According to Kazakhstan’s public procurement portal, Kazakh National Medical University signed a contract worth approximately $27,000, while Toraighyrov University conducted several procurements totaling around $19,000. Most contracts were awarded through single-source procurement procedures, strengthening the market position of one dominant supplier in the field of academic verification systems. At the same time, AI detectors do not produce definitive results and instead operate on probabilistic models. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Education has separately stated that such tools cannot serve as indisputable proof of academic misconduct. “The development of artificial intelligence requires not a mechanical prohibition of AI, but an improvement of assessment systems,” the ministry noted. [caption id="attachment_49352" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] A talk on AI at Al-Farabi University. Image: Joe Luc Barnes[/caption] University Regulations Lag Behind Technological Reality The problem is compounded by outdated university regulations. Many rules and academic policies were written before the mass adoption of generative AI. Documents from Yessenov University and Narxoz University, for example, contain no references to terms such as “AI,” “neural networks,” or “text generation.” Even recently updated regulations often preserve the old logic of evaluation through text originality percentages. In the “Academic Policy of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University for 2025-2026”, AI usage is now formally regulated, yet the university simultaneously retains a requirement that diploma theses maintain a minimum originality level of 75%. This creates a legal contradiction:...

1 week ago

AI in Education

Turkmenistan Looks to OpenAI as it Modernizes Education

Officials from Turkmenistan have met with OpenAI to discuss the use of artificial intelligence in the country’s education system. The London meeting between a delegation from Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Education and OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, took place during the Education World Forum 2026 this week, according to state media. The forum is a major annual gathering in which governments, the private sector, international NGOs, and others network and discuss ways of improving education systems. The meeting between ministry officials and OpenAI representatives addressed the “practical possibilities” of using AI in schools, the state-run Turkmenistan: Golden Age outlet reported. “The main focus was placed on two areas of cooperation: the use of AI to improve the quality of education and the development of AI literacy among schoolchildren, students, teachers, and administrative personnel,” the publication reported. During the meeting, Turkmenistan outlined the development of electronic educational platforms in the country’s education system, while OpenAI discussed possible pilot programs involving the use of ChatGPT Edu, an AI platform designed to protect user data, in selected academic institutions. They agreed to consider ways to build practical AI skills, such as hackathons in which students would team up to build a project or solve a problem in a limited time period. Turkmenistan’s government retains tight controls on society, and education is highly centralized. Traditional problems include teacher shortages and concerns that a range of restrictions were holding back student development. Even so, the country has embarked on a campaign to modernize the system and expand contacts with international institutions. Nurmuhammet Shyhlyev, vice-rector of the International University of Humanities and Development of Turkmenistan, was in Japan this month. He discussed initiatives including the establishment of Japanese language centers in Ashgabat's higher education institutions and joint research on robotics, green technologies, and other topics. In March, Education Minister Jumamyrat Gurbangeldiyev met Stefania Giannini, UNESCO assistant director-general for education, at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

1 week ago

Opinion: How AI Is Reshaping the Global Image of Nations

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming one of the most powerful geopolitical and economic forces in the world. It is changing how countries compete, build influence, and attract investment. Until recently, discussions about Central Asia’s economic development were dominated by infrastructure, energy, logistics, and natural resources. Today, a new layer of competition is emerging: digital influence shaped by AI systems. According to McKinsey, AI could contribute up to $13 trillion to the global economy by 2030. For Central Asia and Kazakhstan, AI development is no longer just a digital transformation agenda; it is directly tied to technological sovereignty, economic resilience, and long-term competitiveness. Who Shapes a Country’s Image in the Age of AI? Digital influence is increasingly determined by how artificial intelligence systems interpret and represent countries. Consider a Singaporean investor asking Gemini about emerging technology markets in Central Asia. A European procurement manager using ChatGPT to identify logistics partners in the region. A journalist turning to Perplexity for insights on Kazakhstan’s fintech ecosystem before writing a report. In each case, AI generates answers based on the data it has been trained on and can access. This creates a new geopolitical reality: those who shape data and content structure ultimately shape how countries are represented globally. Generative AI is already used at a massive scale, with ChatGPT surpassing 900 million weekly active users as of early 2026. As these systems become default information interfaces, the visibility of countries within AI-generated responses is becoming increasingly important. When high-quality, structured, and authoritative content is missing, AI systems rely on outdated information, fragmented sources, and external narratives. In practice, this means that a lack of structured digital presence can directly influence international perception. How Other Countries Are Responding Several countries have already recognized this shift and are actively responding. According to Axios, Israel paid Brad Parscale’s firm $9 million as part of a campaign aimed at shaping how AI platforms portray the country. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are investing heavily in AI infrastructure and Arabic-language models, including Gulf-backed data centers, sovereign AI initiatives, and Arabic-first large language models. These efforts go beyond technology development. They represent a broader competition for influence in an information environment where AI-generated responses increasingly shape global understanding. AI Momentum in Kazakhstan In 2025, Kazakhstan was listed among the region’s strongest performers in the Government AI Readiness Index published by Oxford Insights. Kazakh officials cited a ranking of 60th out of 195 countries, while Oxford Insights published a regional report that placed Kazakhstan 58th globally. In either case, it was the highest-ranked of the five Central Asian states and represented a sharp improvement from the previous year. Over the past two years, Kazakhstan has demonstrated rapid progress in artificial intelligence. Venture investment in AI has increased more than fivefold, from $14 million to $73 million. IT service exports surpassed $1 billion in 2025, with later ministry figures putting the total at about $1.14 billion. The Kazakh-linked AI startup Higgsfield AI has also been widely described as Kazakhstan’s...

2 weeks ago