An applied research center that helps people navigate a changing economy. We analyze what is happening, understand how technology is changing it, and help prepare for the future.
We do not simply offer services. We solve real problems faced by the state, business, and civil society in conditions of uncertainty.
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The growth of the mortgage portfolio in 2023 has halved.
In the past year of 2023, a number of important laws were adopted in Kazakhstan. Some of them have already come into force. Thus, from today, the country has begun to conduct fingerprint registration of citizens. However, this procedure is voluntary for Kazakhstanis, while foreigners and stateless persons over the age of 16 will have to submit their fingerprints whether they want to or not.
What concerns Kazakhstanis the most? Why is it cheaper to bring Chinese goods from Russia than from China? A crisis of strategic planning has emerged in Kazakhstan, and why is the plan to increase the population's income not working? These and many other questions on the country's economic agenda were discussed by Rakhim Oshakbaev with the director of the Applied Research Center "Talap", Askar Kysykov.
By Decree of the President No. 1311 of 9 June 2026, the Nationwide Strategy for Large-Scale Digitalization and the Comprehensive Deployment of AI Technologies, “Digital Qazaqstan,” was approved until 2029. TALAP analyzed the document: what goals and indicators it sets, how it differs from previous programs, and what it means for citizens, business, and the state.
The Center for Applied Research "TALAP" presented the findings of a series of strategic discussions and research. Experts warn: without rules and measurements, the implementation of AI in schools could exacerbate inequality and reduce the quality of basic skills.
In three years, we have become a little less afraid of our neighbors, but we still do not trust them.
Everyone was watching oil, food, and aviation kerosene. But the most durable consequences of the war manifested themselves in other sectors: fertilizers, petrochemicals, aluminum, insurance, and ocean freight. This is a story about why the loudest fears do not always turn out to be the main impact.
The Gulf War passed by Kazakhstan’s export route — but not by its economy. The real blow came not through Hormuz, but through the Black Sea, the CPC, Tengiz, and the limited capacity of alternative routes. This is the story of a country for which a high oil price proved weaker than an infrastructure disruption.
The war became a test for forecasters. Almost everyone identified the key point: the risk for Kazakhstan was not in Hormuz, but in the CPC, Tengiz, and export infrastructure. But beyond that, forecasts diverged. Some focused on GDP, others on the oil price, and still others on the tenge exchange rate. Reality showed that the key variable was not the Brent price, but the country’s ability to produce, export, and monetize oil.
