Intro

Microfinance institutions in Kazakhstan enjoyed a banner year in terms of asset growth, according to a new report from the National Bank of Kazakhstan. The sector as a whole saw assets grow by 44.3%, thanks largely to rising demand from emerging markets. This is great news for the country’s small businesses and entrepreneurs, who are increasingly able to access the capital they need to grow and expand.

Growth During the Quarantine

Kazakhstan’s microfinance sector has seen significant growth during the quarantine period. The number of microfinance organizations operating in the country has increased by 20%, and the average loan size has increased by 30%. The sector has also seen an increase in the number of new clients, with the majority of new clients being women. This growth is largely due to the fact that many Kazakhs have lost their jobs or had their income reduced due to the pandemic. As a result, microfinance organizations have been able to provide much-needed financial assistance to many families. The sector is expected to continue to grow in the coming months, as more and more Kazakhs turn to microfinance for financial assistance.

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The main source of economic growth in Kazakhstan is the extraction of various natural resources, including coal. Coal mine “Molodezhny” located near Karaganda is among the largest coal producers of the country.

Annual production is about 7 million tons of coal a year. BelAZ trucks (capacity up to 130 tons) are used to transport coal. 1,150 people are working here; the average wage is about $ 300 a month. Coal mine “Molodezhny” location on Google Maps. Photos by Vadim Makhorov

How coal is mined in Kazakhstan

Tags: Karaganda oblast

In Akmola region, approximately 15 kilometers from Kokshetau, there is unique gold deposit “Altyntau Kokshetau”. The depth of the pit is 135 meters, surface area – 1210 thousand square meters. In the mid-2000s the company received an investment of about $ 700 million. For the past two years it produced 11.5 tons of gold.

Current productivity of the deposit is about 6 million tons of ore per year (8 million tons at full capacity). One ton of ore contains about 2 grams of gold. Thus, in future it will produce about 15 tons of gold a year. Photos by voxpopuli.kz

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Tags: Akmola oblast · gold

Nice video about the main reasons to invest in Kazakhstan.

According to the officials they are: ample natural resources, favorable location, political stability, favorable business climate, investor protection, availability of transnational corporations, foreign direct investments, economic growth, customs union markets, industrial and innovative development.

I am not sure, if watching the video is enough to make the decision, but at least it gives some info to think about.

Tags: investment

During Soviet times the volume of production of salt in Kyzylorda oblast of Kazakhstan reached 600,000 tons annually, ensuring the needs of all 15 republics of the USSR.

Today the region produces about 250,000 tons of salt that is used only for the needs of domestic market. Salt reserves in this area are about 11 million tons, enough to continue production for the next 40-50 years. Photos by voxpopuli.kz

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Tags: Aralsk city · Kzyl-Orda oblast · salt

March 25, 2012 the Proton Breeze M rocket successfully launched the Intelsat 22 satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome located in Kazakhstan. The satellite, weighing 6199 kg, was released into supersynchronous transfer orbit at 65,000 km apogee.

The Proton Breeze M vehicle is built by Khrunichev State Research and Space Production Center of Moscow. Proton has a heritage of 374 missions since its maiden flight in 1965.

Tags: Baikonur city · cosmodrome · launch · space rocket

Kazakhstan is the world leader in production of natural sponges the chairman of the Board of “Kaznex Invest” Erlan Arinov said at press conference in Almaty. According to him “Kazakhstan sponges are in great demand, especially in Russia and Europe”.

Kazakhstan sponge products are made from natural material – the fruits of loofah, grown in Uzbekistan, where natural conditions and hot sun make an unusual fiber structure of loofah – unique skin care product.

For several decades a lot of countries use Kazakhstan sponges made from Central Asia loofah. The growing trend in environmental issues, shortage of natural products shows that numerous people suffer from allergies using synthetic sponges. Kazakhstan natural sponges do not cause any allergy or skin irritation.

Tags: loofah sponges

Great photos of the plants located in Pavlodar city. The places are looking like real hell on earth. The photos were captured by Stepanov Slava.

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Tags: Pavlodar city · plants

A mine of such a capacity was constructed for the first time in the world in Ekibastuz coal field (Ekibastuz city). Due to this fact “Bogatyr” was included into the Guinness Book of Records in 1980 (over 1 billion tons of coal was mined within the whole period of exploitation). 50 million tons is mined a year. The pictures were captured by Stepanov Slava (all the photos are clickable).

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Tags: coal mine · Ekibastuz city

The following video report was captured by ABC Australia on the shores of the Aral Sea and in Aralsk city. The story is about the present and the possible future of the Aral Sea that almost disappeared during the Soviet times.

Tags: Aral Sea · Aralsk city