Entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan have that energy and that passion - Jeff Hoffman’s insights about investment potential in Kazakhstan

In an exclusive interview, Hoffman praises the event's international collaboration and shares his positive impressions of Kazakh entrepreneurs, noting their energy, commitment, and problem-solving focus. He highlights key sectors for potential investment, including healthcare, education, and remote work, and discusses the importance of passion and execution in entrepreneurship. Hoffman also reveals his interest in exploring investment opportunities in Kazakhstan by the end of the year.

What do you think about the event so far?

The event has been fantastic. It's important to have collaboration, right? But international collaboration is important as well. So there's such a great mix of people at this event from all around the world, and everybody's here to share ideas. I have really enjoyed this event.

Have you had a chance to learn more about local startups, businesses, and projects that, in your opinion, have the potential to reach the international level?

I'm still learning about them, but what's been really interesting and good for Kazakhstan is, before I came here, when the announcements were made about this conference, a bunch of different young Kazakh entrepreneurs found me online and said “When you come here, will you look at my startup and give me some guidance?”

So, I already had a chance to talk to Kazakh entrepreneurs and look at some of their startups and already started conversations with them. I've been really impressed with the energy and the commitment and the fact that they took the time to reach out before I even got here.

What in your opinion is the most interesting about those startups that you've seen so far?

I'm about to go on the main stage and give a talk and one of the first things I'm going to talk about today is solve a real problem, right? Entrepreneurs from every country, every part of the world, everywhere you live, there's problems. Nothing's perfect and solving the real problems that exist where you live is the best place to start. Sometimes entrepreneurs try to create an idea: they come up with something, they'll show me something they invented and I'll say, “Who wants that?” And they say, “I don't know, but I'm going to try to sell it.” That's different than saying where I live, there is this problem and I'm going to fix it. So, the Kazakh entrepreneurs are looking for ways to improve things right here where they live.

What, in your opinion, is the most interesting about young people and entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan?

During my talk yesterday, one of the main things I talked about was that the key to success in innovation and in entrepreneurship is not funding. It's not that people need more money, it's innovation, it's creativity, it's passion. And that's what Kazakh entrepreneurs have. The energy level.

You can have great ideas all day, but I used to have a sign on my door and it said “Your ideas are welcome here”, but execution is worship. And the reason why is that everybody has an idea, but do you have the energy and the passion and the commitment to actually make it happen? The entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan have that energy and that passion. I've been seeing it the whole time I've been here and that's a really important element of being a good entrepreneur.

What do you think about the investment potential of Kazakhstan as a whole on a global and regional, so, Central Asian levels?

Sure. So, everybody in the world wants to do business in some way with markets like China, right? And, you know, as we've been hearing, as the mayor of Almaty pointed out again the other day when we were talking, Kazakhstan is three hours is within three hours of most of the world's population, right? Because you have India, Pakistan, China, et cetera, Russia on the other side. So the positioning of Kazakhstan as a market and the access to huge markets like India and like China is a big opportunity for entrepreneurs here. So from an investment viewpoint, investors are looking for potential to grow a product and grow a market into bigger markets. And that's what Kazakhstan has.

Is there a possibility of you and your companies investing in Kazakhstan or even launching a separate branch of projects in our country?

Yes, that's why we're here, right? The reason I personally travel to all these countries is you have to be on the ground, you have to be meeting with entrepreneurs, you have to be inside of the ecosystem to understand if entrepreneurs are going to be successful here.

And if all the elements of that success for entrepreneurs are within an ecosystem, which they are here in Kazakhstan, then your entrepreneurs are going to succeed. So, when we see that kind of environment for entrepreneurs to work in and support for entrepreneurs, then their companies are probably going to work. And those are the companies that we typically look to invest in. Obviously, they have to be solving an important problem, but they have to be doing it in an environment where they have a chance of succeeding.

Is there a certain sector that you're interested in and that you're looking into more than others?

I wouldn't say necessarily there's a certain sector here. But different parts of the world have different sector expertise because they have different needs. Like in Africa, agriculture is huge because they need the food, right?

So, in different parts of the world, in some parts of the world, the tourism sector is big. In other parts of the world, the education sector. But there are a few sectors that are important everywhere. The future of work, right? Because after the pandemic, we started working as remote employees. That's a big sector we're always interested in. How do you maximize workforces in a virtual environment?

The future of healthcare is important because more healthcare will become preventative and will use technology and you'll do home healthcare. Literally, in the other room, there was just a presentation about a device that women can do their own mammogram, take their own breast test with a device without a doctor. They just put it on and it has sensors, it's technology. So healthcare is one and the last one would be education, right? How do we as a world improve education globally using technology? So, those sectors are ones that are really important to us.

Do you think you're looking to invest by the end of this year or next year? 

No, it could be the end of this year. We'll see what we find. There's always criteria for making a good investment. Okay. Thank you so much. That was my last question. Thank you for finding the time of the day. It was an honor to meet you.

Kazinform News Agency correspondent counties to report live from New Vision 2024 forum in Almaty.