Barely one year after unfurling its digitization objectives, key sectors of Kazakhstan’s economy have recorded a wave of improvements stemming from integrating emerging technologies.
According to a report by The Astana Times, the Central Asian nation is relying on artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and Internet of Things (IoT) technology to digitize its local economy. The push follows a 2024 directive from President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev aimed at positioning the country as the region’s leader for next-gen technologies.
Since the directive, Kazakh authorities have confirmed plans for a Crypto City pilot zone, with one Kazakh lawmaker mulling the prospects of a national digital asset bank. Amid the push, the country has recorded a spike in cross-border digital asset settlements while striking a power-sharing deal with digital asset mining companies.
The report also highlighted the launch of the Solana Economic Zone in Kazakhstan, the first-of-its-kind in Central Asia.
With AI, Kazakhstan has launched its developmental blueprint till 2029, with authorities confirming a national AI strategy and legal framework in the pipeline. While industry players await the guiding documents, the government has established a national research and training center for AI, following up with Central Asia’s pioneering supercomputer cluster.
Besides blockchain and AI, Kazakhstan has improved its telecommunications and connectivity capabilities over the last year. Currently, nearly 95% of the population has internet capabilities, with Starlink setting up shop in the country to provide last-mile connectivity.
Already, Kazakhstan has begun reaping the rewards of its digitization efforts, with governance and public service delivery topping the list. For starters, using blockchain in government processes has stifled corrupt activities, with a recent report noting that authorities have saved over $24 million from the shadow economy.
Kazakh citizens now have access to electronic medical certificates, sidestepping the need for traditional paperwork. Furthermore, the education sector is also recording significant milestones from digitization, with authorities launching courses in higher institutions to deepen the talent pool.
A bright future for Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is pledging to advance its position in blockchain for the coming years. The Kazakh Ministry of Science and Higher Education has launched a learning initiative with 70 modules for students in 100 local universities to provide blockchain awareness.
In the near term, authorities have confirmed plans to explore digital payment initiatives in the quest for a cashless economy. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s neighbors, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, have notched gains in digital currency and AI adoption.
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Qatar Development Bank leverages IBM for digital transformation
In other news, Qatar Development Bank (QDB) has taken a significant leap in the quest for digitization following the integration of a raft of IBM (NASDAQ: IBM) solutions into its existing operational architecture.
The bank’s latest play is geared toward modernizing its IT infrastructure to improve digital banking experiences for customers. Launched in 1997, experts have credited QDB with playing an important role in the diversification of Qatar’s economy, but the demands of modern commerce have forced executives to overhaul existing systems.
Going forward, the bank is ditching its infrastructure for IBM’s trio of latest banking solutions. At the heart of QDB’s digital transformation is IBM Cloud Pak for Integration (CB4I), designed to handle nearly 40,000 API calls daily with a 1,773-millisecond response time.
For operation resilience, QDB is leaning on IBM Instana for end-to-end and real-time monitoring of its IT infrastructure. Instana introduces AI-powered solutions for QDP to identify and resolve issues with minimal effort while minimizing service disruptions.
QDB has integrated IBM Turbonomic for resource allocation and energy efficiency to complete its digital overhaul. The IBM solution achieves its energy efficiency capabilities by automatically adjusting CPU, storage, and memory to match demand surges in real-time.
Early tests with the IBM solutions have resulted in a raft of positives for QDB, with the financial institution eyeing massive capital gains from operations. QDB executives say improved customer experiences are a fallout from the IBM integrations, given the bank’s enhanced ability to process high transaction volumes with minimal latency.
Furthermore, the bank is eyeing the upsides of reduced operational costs from integrating IBM Turbonomic. Meanwhile, the IBM Cloud Pak for Integration primes QDB to adopt emerging technologies following the migration of critical APIs.
A bird’s-eye view of the collaboration with IBM underscored QDB’s intent to pursue digitization to keep pace with emerging fintech players in the Middle East. The bank is increasingly eyeing a migration to a cloud-native and API-driven infrastructure from a traditional IT environment.
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Digitization underscores Qatar’s financial system
While QDB is pursuing digitization, the rest of Qatar’s financial system is undergoing a transformation similar to that of emerging technologies. The banking regulator is testing the waters with a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in a strong show of innovation amid tokenization experiments.
Last year, the country unveiled a comprehensive digital asset regulatory framework to guide service providers’ operations. Outside of blockchain, the country is exploring AI use cases in finance to stifle fraud and improve productivity metrics for sector players.
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Source: https://coingeek.com/kazakhstan-qatar-drive-digital-transformation-initiatives/
