On September 26, Shymkent will become one of the stops on the annual SHANYRAQ Business Forum tour. Organizers expect to bring together more than 500 entrepreneurs, company executives, representatives of business development institutions, and experts from across Kazakhstan.

This year’s forum focuses on a highly practical question: “How Can Businesses Survive a Crisis and Grow Faster Than the Market?”

Rather than concentrating only on success stories, the organizers intend to discuss the challenges entrepreneurs face every day - rising costs, access to financing, sales, team management, process automation, and the need to quickly adapt businesses to changing conditions.

SHANYRAQ will also place particular emphasis on the real experiences of entrepreneurs. Speakers are expected to talk not only about scaling their companies and achieving results, but also about their first earnings, cash-flow gaps, unsuccessful decisions, periods of crisis, and rebuilding businesses after mistakes.

According to SHANYRAQ founder Margarita Boyarova, one of the forum’s objectives is to change the way entrepreneurs traditionally view one another and to demonstrate that cooperation between businesses can create greater opportunities than constant competition.

“Not everyone in the market is a competitor. Today, businesses are increasingly developing through partnerships: one entrepreneur has an audience, another has a product, a third has technology, and a fourth has access to a new market. Individually, their opportunities are limited. Together, they can achieve an entirely different scale,” Boyarova said.

In Shymkent, participants will also discuss the specific features of doing business in Kazakhstan’s southern region, opportunities for raising capital, financing for small and medium-sized businesses, and available government support instruments.

Another focus will be the introduction of modern CRM systems and the automation of internal business processes. Organizers say they want participants to leave the forum with practical solutions that can be applied to existing businesses rather than abstract recommendations.

The announced speakers include entrepreneur and media manager Beibit Alibekov, founder of Royal Flowers, Crem and Buana Adil Tasbolatov, Global Coffee CEO and co-founder Ayat Azimov, Metallinvest Group CEO Mirgali Burbayev, CRM Consulting director Dauren Taiyr, head of the Damu Fund’s Shymkent branch Asset Tlemissov, and head of Bank CenterCredit’s Shymkent branch Abzal Onalbekov.

Adil Tasbolatov is expected to speak about the factors that prevent businesses from growing faster. Beibit Alibekov will discuss the role of an entrepreneur’s personal brand, while Margarita Boyarova will present her view on the changes businesses need to make in order to grow in 2026.

The list of speakers is still being finalized.

SHANYRAQ is being held as part of a nationwide tour across Kazakhstan. In 2026, forums have already taken place in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Karaganda, and Astana. The tour also includes Atyrau, Shymkent, and Almaty.

Organizers position SHANYRAQ as a platform for an open discussion about entrepreneurship in Kazakhstan - not only about achievements, but also about the challenges faced by people who create jobs, develop local production and services, and launch new projects.

The forum will take place on September 26 at the Ramada Hotel in Shymkent.

Source: SHANYRAQ Business Forum Press Service