BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 20. Mastercard will cooperate with Kazakhstan to promote and develop IT, Rafal Trepka, CEO of Mastercard in Central Asia, told Trend.
He noted that Mastercard, with the advisory support of the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan, intends to develop and implement a five-year digital partnership program in Kazakhstan - Kazakhstan Digital Country Partnership.
"Cooperation will include initiatives such as promoting the Kazakh GovTech model using the Mastercard global network, expanding access to financial services through the digitalization of payments in various areas (government payments, agriculture, education, etc.), cooperation in the promotion and development of IT exports, e-commerce, digitalization of SMEs, fintech ecosystems," he said.
As Mastercard Executive Vice President Nicola Villa previously said, other countries where Mastercard operates are actively interested in Kazakhstan’s experience in the fields of digitalization, the development of e-government, and the cashless economy.
According to Rafal Trepka the cooperation will also include supporting Kazakhstan's Smart Cities program with a key focus on the tourism and urban transport sectors, promoting the creation of a secure and sustainable digital ecosystem through cybersecurity and anti-fraud.
"The parties will pay particular attention to cooperation in promoting projects related to digital and financial literacy of various segments of the population. By concluding the Kazakhstan Digital Country Partnership, we are ready to take our cooperation with all stakeholders in Kazakhstan to a new, deeper and more comprehensive level," he said.
The Regional CEO pointed out that from Almaty, Mastercard plan to develop business and human capital in the banking sector for the entire Central Asian region.
Previously, Mastercard has chosen the city of Almaty as a regional hub in the CIS, Central and Eastern Europe for the development of consulting direction.
"This will benefit everyone - business, people, society, the country as a whole. For companies and entrepreneurs, we bring global advanced technologies and share our international experience. To develop local specialists, we train personnel, provide jobs, and raise professionals. We are also creating numerous training programs for SMEs and students, who will also work in various fields and open their own businesses tomorrow. Ultimately, this will affect the country's economy and GDP growth," he said.
Mastercard is a leading global technology company with more than 2.3 billion account holders in 210 countries. The organization has a market capitalization of over $390 billion and is ranked among the top 10 most valuable global brands in the world according to Kantar, 2023.