At a Government session, Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry Dmitry Mun presented the results and plans for the digital transformation of the trade sector.

According to him, 66 types of government services in the trade sector are currently available, provided by various government agencies. All of them have been fully digitized. In 2024, more than 17,000 such services were provided through digital channels.

The ministry is conducting process reengineering before digitalization. As an example, the “electronic certificate” case was presented. For a long time, the problems in this area included the mass issuance of “gray” certificates — without accreditation, registration, or actual measurements — as well as the absence of a unified database for document verification. In 2024, the process was fully digitized: certificates are now subject to mandatory registration in the “Technical Regulation” system and can be verified via QR code.

“The result is an increase in issued certificates to 2 million and the withdrawal of approximately 20 billion tenge from the shadow economy,” Dmitry Mun emphasized.

The Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry also spoke about ongoing work on reengineering the “Exporter Acceleration” case, aimed at supporting Kazakhstani companies in entering international trading platforms.

According to him, previously the process involved manual document processing, a lack of clear requirements and timelines, and the inability to track the status of applications. This slowed export activity and reduced business confidence.

As a result of reengineering, a centralized digital platform is planned with an integrated notification system and automated document verification using artificial intelligence. The potential efficiency of application processing is expected to increase by 60%.

It was also noted that companies operating in the Astana Hub ecosystem are developing solutions for the automation of online and offline sales, inventory management, customer behavior analytics, as well as services for marketplaces and logistics.

By the end of 2024, companies in this area earned over 65 billion tenge and created more than 3,000 jobs.

One of the solutions in trade digitalization is the BEKSAR platform — a system for sales automation, analytics, customer and financial management. The system integrates more than 4,600 retail outlets across Kazakhstan, with a total turnover exceeding 1 trillion tenge.

The project is a graduate of the joint Astana Hub and Google for Startups Silkway Accelerator program, which is one of the key tools for supporting scalable tech startups.

Another effective trade digitalization solution that received an additional boost within the Silkway Accelerator is Prometei — a SuperApp for entrepreneurs that helps launch and develop online sales through marketplaces such as Wildberries, Ozon, and Kaspi, without the need to maintain their own warehouse or pre-purchase goods.

The platform offers up to 1 million products from 200 brands from Russia and Kazakhstan, with certificates and delivery to the buyer. Users save up to 60% of their time thanks to automatic product uploads and inventory updates.

Prometei is integrated with major marketplaces and supports delivery, training, fintech services, and AI tools.

During the Government meeting, the Deputy Minister also presented an overview of current global trends relevant to the development and digitalization of the trade sector.

It was noted that India’s experience demonstrates the successful implementation of an open e-commerce ecosystem. Small businesses and consumers interact directly without dependence on major marketplaces. The system involves more than 30,000 sellers, with 5–7 million monthly transactions, demonstrating significant growth in digital trade and expanded SME access to online markets.

In turn, the United Arab Emirates actively uses the CargoX blockchain platform, which enables the issuance and transfer of transportation and trade documents in electronic form. This digital solution aims to reduce processing times and increase the transparency of logistics operations.

“In South Korea, systemic support is provided to small and medium-sized businesses to enter international markets, including through e-commerce tools. A platform has been implemented that allows companies to find foreign buyers, conduct negotiations, and process export transactions online. According to forecasts, by 2030 the volume of global online trade will reach $70–75 trillion,” Dmitry Mun added.

In conclusion, the Deputy Minister outlined recommendations from the MDDIAI for the development and digitalization of the trade sector, including:

• The introduction of a seller verification (KYC) requirement in e-commerce, which will allow verification of the identity and legal status of sellers.

• The implementation of a “secure transaction” mechanism on electronic trading platforms, in which the buyer’s funds are temporarily held (for example, in an escrow account) and transferred to the seller only after confirmation of receipt of the goods or services.

• The need to digitize the process of accrediting testing laboratories, taking into account the completed process reengineering.

#Digitalization #Government session #Ministry of Digital Development #Trade

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