Serikbay Bisekeev

A vaccine against poverty

Experts in the study of social inequality are sounding the alarm, warning that poverty is becoming a way of life for millions of citizens in the former Soviet Union. In an interview with our editors, Serikbay Bisekeev, the president of «Arman Holding» shared his thoughts on how to tackle this problem and what the domestic business community can do to help address the issue.- In Kazakhstan, somehow paradoxically, there is a consumption boom and at the same time growing poverty. Does it not seem to you that one of the causes of poverty in the Republic of Kazakhstan is a life of debt, fuelled by consumer fever and consumer lending? What do you think may be the way out of this?In my opinion, the government should conduct some serious awareness-raising work in this area. In this country, nobody is developing financial literacy in the proper way and the people who suffer are forced to work all their lives paying back loans. As a result, each year we see the purchasing power of the entire population dropping. This means that the public cannot buy their own cars or apartments as they used to be able to, and therefore do not pay taxes on them - which affects the growth of the economy.In my opinion, in order to boost the economy it is necessary to develop one of the weaker-developed areas, which is competence, and an increase in consumer capacity will follow. For instance, if an electrician is not in the first but in the sixth category, he can earn more money and thereby improve his purchasing power. For this reason, it seems to me that companies in Kazakhstan need first of all to look for mechanisms to improve the competences of employees and thus the level of their earnings. Secondly, the public should be made to understand that "living on credit ", as a result of this same consumer lending, is not always the best way. Since, after all, there is in fact an alternative. Why do I, for example, live in rented accommodation and not drive a car? Because that's how I free up my money, which enables me to go on vacation, exercise, study, etc without any problem. So I can spend at my leisure, and be a happy man. Those people who invest all their money in one thing - even though they have loans to help them pay for it, do not live happy lives.You should live according to your means!

- In your opinion, does this approach have something to do with our mentality?

Yes, I think it's time to get rid of these tenets that everyone has to possess their own house and so on, and urgently take out mortgages and loans. What is even more frightening is that among our citizens, the most reckless spending is linked to the various stereotypes of the authorities above them. One such stereotype is that you can only drive the most expensive cars, since the owner is judged according to the car he drives. On the other hand, people can become much happier and freer when they realize that they are perceived as a person - as interesting and professional. And this freedom means a lot. You can start to invest in your education - to improve your competences and become a more highly-paid employee, to study in other countries and develop your horizons. If a person has freedom of choice when it comes to work and travel, he will definitely be able to achieve success.Earn money, save up and buy without taking out any loans!

- But still, when we talk about knowledge, it is one thing when an accomplished person increases their skills, but quite another when it comes to specialists at the beginning of their careers. To what extent can our education system ensure that the quality of knowledge it gives will prove to be a valuable investment? After all, higher education in our country costs a lot of money. How can we deal with this dilemma?

In this sense, we need to look at the education system objectively. I was most surprised that the heads of departments do not use the past experience of other successful countries. Without once spending funds on developing a better model, without writing a strategy together with the people who are to implement it - nothing will get done. We also somehow love to come up with the "brilliant rescue plan", behind the scenes, which everyone has to silently follow. In corporations it's different - but that's why, in contrast to our ministries and government agencies, they are effective. We need knowledgeable managers, if not our own, then attracted from elsewhere - managers who will be able to choose the best models in the world, to conduct research, and to correctly draw up terms of reference (TOR). After all, in order to properly develop a win-win strategy, you need to get serious about writing TOR. Otherwise, the results of your labour may not prove to be practicable.

It often happens that people tell me: 'we invite well-known companies, such as McKinsey or someone else to write our strategy, but we all get from them is what we already know'. I reply that they did not define the TOR correctly, and that they should have spent a little bit more money at the outset - meaning they wouldn't have to wait so long for the results. When there are billions of dollars in the bank, you cannot cut costs on hiring the right consultants, because without them you will not define good TOR; since our compatriots have had no experience in building successful education systems and so forth, hire their assistance and train up our own professionals.

We are talking about poor quality education in the country - let's improve it in such a way that good professionals are motivated not only to work in the city, but also in the villages. To do this, we need to think about what conditions we can provide for them there, what key indicators they will have, what salary they will be paid, where they will live, and so on. In other words, everything depends on the kind of infrastructure provided. What can be done? Now the state is trying to attract as many investors as possible into the various sectors of our economy. It is important that these investors bear a social burden, which will be appended to the investment documents. The idea is to assign to them the task of creating appropriate infrastructure in the regions. This is so that the people who go there to work will understand that the living conditions are the same as in the city. This includes gyms, the internet, and cinemas, and more. It is important to present the pluses, such as the clean air and streets free from traffic jams. When all of this can be offered to young professionals, they will be happy to go to any regional centre and to develop it.

- Again, there are areas where business can develop.

Yes, but at the moment it all depends on infrastructure. In this regard, any district council should put the ability to attract investments as a key indicator. Now the state is involved with a new investment law, according to which 30% of capital investments made during the final stages of construction projects are to be returned to investors. The catch is that very few people in the world know about it. Consequently, if Kazakhstan really wants to attract a large number of foreign investors, a good promotional campaign is needed.

For example, a presentation of the programme should be made in financial centres such as New York, London, Frankfurt, Singapore and Tokyo, during which ministers provide information about the benefits of investing in the economy of Kazakhstan, which industries require investment, and so forth. Local government officials should also take part, in order to present the projects that are available in each region genericcialis-rxtopstore.com of the country.

In other words, the government should openly tell investors - let us create an infrastructure together that will be of benefit both to your employees and to the other residents of the area in which your business operates.

- It means that all of these mechanisms need to be set out as KPIs (key performance indicators)?

Absolutely right. I am taken aback when I discover that no one sets any targets for foreigners who come to work for Kazakhstan's state-owned companies. It turns out that none of the local leaders can set proper targets for the expats who come here. As a result, these foreign specialists receive large salaries and do not aspire to teach any of the local workforce. After all, it is much more profitable for them to come here for a few more years and earn huge sums of money.

That's why I believe we need to clearly define what we want from each investor. Namely, to increase people's knowledge, to improve the infrastructure and their quality of life!

-And what do you think about the Government reforms?

I can give a simple example: from the time that Kazakhstan agreed to develop renewable energy sources, as all the developed countries already do, in those three years the minister responsible and his team have been replaced three times - and just as before, the conditions for investors have still not been drawn up.

- Continuing on the subject of poverty, one of the problems that can also affect quality of life in our country is the growing number of self-employed persons, who do not save up money for their old age in the form of pension funds. Experts fear that in the future this will have a severe impact on the state budget. In your opinion, why do our citizens prefer to live for today?

The reason is the same - not all the ministries conduct research professionally or use the best practices. They reinvent the wheel. But what for? If it has already been invented, select the best and implement it in our country. Nonetheless, they are constantly trying to come up with something new, that is incomprehensible to ordinary people. In such a way, the process is becoming less transparent. Meanwhile, society expects the opposite from the state - dialogue that is possible to understand; why was this model chosen, and not another one. But nobody discusses this with the people, and it is not explained. As a result, the population perceives everything as being imposed from above and treats it all with scepticism.

Another thing I always try to get across to people is that you shouldn't rely on the state - be self-sufficient and plan your own life, always set aside your savings and invest them in something that will bring you a steady income!

- It is often maintained that we need to fight poverty through knowledge. You regularly make personal appearances at universities in Kazakhstan. How do you rate our younger generation - are they interested in bringing about change?

The problem we need to accept is that people don't believe in the possibility of their becoming successful and financially independent, or of beginning to change something in the existing system. Hence, I think that here the state needs to get involved. If it is interested in the development of start-ups and SMEs, it needs to make films about the history of successful local businessmen, which could serve as an example to be followed. About how even a simple villager can build up a successful company, be a happy person and be useful to society. So far, however, more and more movies are being released about science fiction, racketeering and so on.

My second suggestion is to organise webinars with the best world-class speakers, who can inspire people to do something more. Now, thanks to the internet, this is a real possibility. In theory, the state pays the speaker a one-off fee, and anyone can join in for free and listen to the webinar. But no one is doing this right now.

- At the same time, organising a webinar is much cheaper than bringing a specialist here, as national universities do.

Quite right, it helps to minimize costs. But most importantly, the foreign speakers themselves participate with pleasure. They do not need to travel anywhere; they can calmly spend an hour or so answering questions and get paid for it - which will cost the state half as much, by the way. For us it is an opportunity to educate the majority of Kazakhstan, where there is internet and satellite TV coverage. I don't know why this isn't being done. Perhaps there is no willingness or motivation. I still believe, however, that the state could use taxpayers' money more effectively. In other words, the most important thing is to find a team of like-minded people who want to actualise such ideas.

- You are right in saying that we need

a group of like-minded people. You personally travel to different universities and conduct webinars. Overall, to what extent is the business community of Kazakhstan ready to share their knowledge, to pass on their experience to future generations?

People often ask me why I share my knowledge. Most businessmen in Kazakhstan don't want to - possibly because they believe it is their competitive advantage, or for other such reasons. I share my knowledge and experience because they have enabled me to get where I am, and I'm currently working on other competitive advantages. In order to implement and actualise my suggestions, it will take people more than one year, as it took me, and my own next steps are already in the pipeline.

People cannot understand that the world is changing rapidly, that it is necessary to learn every day, and the knowledge that we have now we shouldn't be afraid to pass on to other people, so that they are able to become successful more quickly. In such a way, things can only get better cheap brand viagra for us all if our entrepreneurs are willing to share their experiences. In the future, I believe that these people should bear the responsibility of travelling to the regional universities at least once every six months to deliver open lectures and cialis oad 5mg impart their knowledge to young people, but the leaders of the universities must be proactively involved. In addition, some of the students may be interested in becoming apprentices for their companies or in trying to set up interesting business projects in their region.

- On the basis of which, a mentoring institute could be developed. Indeed, those same students may be potential startuppers who require an experienced mentor.

Yes, which is why the mentoring system should have presence at each institution. In the event that businessmen are interested, they may in fact support the start-up not only as mentors, but also as investors. However, the problem here is that many startuppers are afraid to voice their ideas, fearing that they will be stolen. So you try to get everything registered legally, and agree upon the terms - since if it happens to be a success, you want to have a share of the profits. Then even if it turns out you have been taken for a ride, you can just put it down as experience and go on to set up a different business project with other, more honest people. All the time that you invest will become your competences and competitive advantages in the future.

- Continuing on the topic of mentoring, there is no clear understanding in Kazakhstan of who a mentor should be. In this regard, there are often even disputes over whether mentors should be paid, or whether they should help start-ups at their own initiative, without charging a fee. What is your opinion?

Each mentor should choose for himself. I cannot speak for others, but I figure that I make money from my business, and what I do as a mentor I do for free.

Probably one of the fundamental problems in the former Soviet Union is the subrogation of human values. People have begun to doubt whether it is worth doing good for others, making them happy or helping to improve their lives. Most try to gain the upper hand over other people. I believe that people who have made it in this life should give more away! In other words, entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan who are successful and earning good money should think about how they can be useful for the country. Whether you have $500 million or $1 billion, the quality of your life will not change dramatically. Is not it better then to analyze whether you really want to invest in castles and other luxury items outside of Kazakhstan. Do something for the people; don't say that it's bad in the villages here and it's great in Bordeaux. Create Tuscany or Bordeaux in your homeland - there are so many beautiful places in our country! Set an example for others to follow!

Source:Бизнес&Власть