The Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA), a flagship initiative of the Digital Strategy, identifies opportunities and risks in a country’s digital ecosystem to help the development, design, and implementation of USAID’s strategies, projects, and activities. It informs USAID Missions and other key decision-makers about how to better understand, work with, and support a country’s digital ecosystem. 

The Kazakhstan Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA) report presents the findings and recommendations of the Kazakhstan DECA. It outlines the key aspects of Kazakhstan’s digital ecosystem and provides 12 recommendations for creating a more inclusive, safe, and enabling environment. Informed by USAID’s Central Asia Regional Development Cooperation Strategy (RDCS) and the Department of State’s Kazakhstan Integrated Country Strategy, the DECA process included desk research, consultations with USAID/Kazakhstan technical offices, and 107 interviews with stakeholders from civil society, academia, the private and public sectors, international development organizations, as well as USAID/Central Asia and U.S. Embassy technical offices. 

Key findings include:

• Kazakhstan has made significant progress in developing first-mile connectivity infrastructure, however, urban-rural divides remain significant in part due to poor last-mile infrastructure and a lack of relevant content for internet users.
• Despite a closing online space in some aspects, the GoK has been open to feedback from the civil society. However, civil society organizations (CSOs) in Kazakhstan are often not prepared to effectively use digital technologies, hindering their ability to engage meaningfully in reviewing and advocating for digital policies.
• The tech startup environment is growing—although still in the early stages of development—with a focus in the cities of Astana and Almaty, leading to an urban-rural innovation divide.
• While Kazakhstan has achieved gender equality in terms of education for all, women seldom move into ICT-related professions, and rarely assume leadership positions in those fields.
• Kazakhstan has made significant progress in bolstering its cybersecurity framework and capabilities, however, there is a clear cybersecurity skills and preparedness gap across the domestic digital ecosystem.

USAID’s Digital Strategy charts an Agency-wide approach to development in a rapidly evolving digital age. Building on decades of USAID leadership in digital development, the Strategy outlines USAID’s deliberate and holistic commitment to improve development and humanitarian assistance outcomes through the use of digital technology and to strengthen open, inclusive, and secure digital ecosystems.