The World Bank will provide Kazakhstan with a $75 million (11.9 billion yen) loan to implement the ALEM project for human capital development in artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, and markets.
The project aims to train AI specialists and support 800 startups. The initiative is expected to create 10,000 jobs by expanding the digital talent pool, increasing access to computing resources, developing robotics prototyping infrastructure, and narrowing the venture capital gap (estimated at $20–25 million annually for growing companies).
The program provides for training more than 5,000 people each year in the fundamentals of AI, Data Science, and machine learning. By December 2031, the project is expected to help 28,000 people complete advanced training programs, support 800 startups across pre-seed, seed, and global accelerator stages, attract venture investments into 50+ companies, and mobilize at least $60 million in private capital. Out of the total amount, $20 million will go into a dedicated fund of funds managed by Alem Capital Management.
The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development together with Astana Hub and Alem Capital Management.