Illusions and realities of Middle Eastern Tech. Personal Observations

1.6 billion USD venture investments in Turkiye in 2022. In Kazakhstan, 60 million USD (according to my calculations, 25 times less so far). Although Kazakhstan’s GDP is only 4 times less than Turkey’s GDP.

Official sources name the reason for the success of Turkish IT companies – a large number of talented young people, middle-aged people with international experience and low labor costs (salaries are low). Since they say so, it must be true. But I noticed something else.

If you are inside Turkiye about booking a hotel through Booking.com. error. In your current country this feature is not available. Next, the browser flips to the local counterpart.

Erdogan banned Alibaba in the country, which made it possible for the local e-commerce giant Hepsiburada to grow and even make an IPO in Nasdaq. The same person banned Uber. Domestic market protection.

I remember in 2013 in Almaty a group of graduates from top American universities decided to make an analogue of Uber/Yandex in KZ. Launched a similar project. After 2 years, Uber / Yandex entered the market, the project was closed. Conventionally, today in Almaty it makes no sense to launch similar services while Yandex Taxi is in operation.

Fourth in the world in the Gaming industry. Ok, where is this from? The reason for the success is a certain person who lived in Britain for many years and, thanks to international competencies, launched a Game dev hit. Before Brexit, the Ankara Agreement was in force, according to which. Turkish citizens could stay in Britain for a year and legally work and open businesses. This has given way to a large number of entrepreneurs and professionals.

There are also a number of observations about the Middle East. If it’s interesting I can write later. Author: Askar Aituov. #centertoc #devs.kz #korkytventures