inDrive Poised to Open University in Kazakhstan and Environmental Project in Almaty

At a meeting on September 5 between Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov and Arsen Tomsky, Founder and CEO of inDrive, a California-based global transport and urban services platform, a proposal was mooted to open an "inVision U University" in Kazakhstan, providing training for 400 qualified specialists in IT, education, science, and art. The Prime Minister also pledged support for the company's plans to implement several environmental initiatives to improve air quality in megacities; the first of which will be implemented in Almaty. Last year, in collaboration with Astana Hub and regional IT hubs, inDrive launched "Beginit", a free international social leadership program across six regions in Kazakhstan to enable 10th-grade students to implement social projects from concept to realization. Founded in 2013 in Yakutia, Russia, and incorporated in the U.S. in 2018, inDrive is now available in 749 cities in 46 countries. In 2021, its market value was estimated at $1.2 billion. In 2022, the company pulled out of Russia, and relocated to Almaty, Kazakhstan. In 2022 and again in 2023, inDrive was the second most downloaded ride-hailing app worldwide based on Google Play and App Store data. In addition to rides, inDrive offers a growing list of urban services, including intercity and freight transportation, handyman calls and courier delivery. In December 2023, Kazakh media reported that Arsen Tomsky had obtained Kazakhstani citizenship.

Russia Donates School Buses for Remote Regions of Kyrgyzstan

A Russian non-profit organization, Eurasia, has given 50 school buses to secondary schools in remote areas of Kyrgyzstan. The handover ceremony was held on September 2 in Bishkek. It was attended by the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic, Akylbek Japarov, Deputy Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Boris Chernyshov, and State Duma deputy and chairperson of Eurasia, Alena Arshinova. At the ceremony, Japarov lauded the long-lasting, strong partnership relations between Kyrgyzstan and Russia and highly appreciated “the contribution that our Russian colleagues make to the development of Kyrgyzstan’s educational sphere.” The head of the Kyrgyz Cabinet of Ministers emphasized that in 2023, Kyrgyzstan built 105 secondary schools, compared to 15 schools constructed in 2010. He added that during this period, the number of schoolchildren in the country increased by almost half a million. At a meeting with Chernyshov and Arshinova on the same day, Japarov noted that Kyrgyzstan has begun implementing large-scale educational projects with Russia in recent years, such as the construction of nine secondary schools in all regions of Kyrgyzstan through Russian funding, construction of new campus of the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University in Bishkek and a branch of Moscow State University in the city of Karakol, as well as a program in which teachers from Russia teach in rural schools across Kyrgyzstan.