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Serve the community
Elevating competence
Serikbay Bisekeev, President of Arman Holding and Independent Director of 'Damu' Entrepreneurship Development Fund, is certain that charity will only be effective when people recognise that help doesn't only have to be in the form of money, but can be given in all sorts of other, non-financial ways. "My motto in life: poverty is being uneducated and lacking qualifications and competences; conversely, being in possession of these things is prosperity. However, many entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan are not prepared to share their knowledge and experience with others," he claims.
- President Nursultan Nazarbayev has repeatedly said that the efforts of politicians should be directed towards the eradication of poverty. In your interviews you often say that poverty needs to be fought through knowledge. Could you tell us more about this?
- To begin with, we should recognize that poor people are, for the most part, uneducated, extremely limited in their judgment, engaged in occupations that they do not like, and unprofessional. To start the fight against poverty, first of all it is necessary to provide people with vocational training. I firmly believe that people can be happier and freer when they become qualified specialists, sought-after and in love with their work. Nevertheless, it's no secret that work rarely becomes a source of joy - in many cases it does not even offer financial security. So, by and by, in the bleak hours spent in the office, a person starts to feel despondent - waiting for the working day to end, performing their duties with little zeal and taking home a salary that could never be considered "synonymous with happiness." This kind of attitude to work needs to be changed radically, and it all depends on the people themselves. For example, not so long ago a survey was conducted which revealed that the majority of people do not have clearly defined objectives and, moreover, there is no programme in place to achieve them - but how can you achieve anything without planning?
My next suggestion is to begin organising webinars with the best world-class speakers - whose ideas have inspired millions of people to make changes in their lives. There is no difficulty in organising such meetings, since the Internet can be utilised for such purposes. But unfortunately no one is doing this - even when we consider the fact that organising webinars is much cheaper than bringing foreign specialists to Kazakhstan, as many companies and universities currently do. On my site I conduct such webinars, and have also lectured at various universities. In addition, I record video clips with the best entrepreneurs and experts who answer the audience's questions. In this way I try to reduce the gaps in competences, and bring about independent solving of life's problems: because, as a rule, people in the former Soviet Union are constantly anticipating ready-made solutions and assistance from the state. I, for one, have never asked the state for anything. Why don't people start taking responsibility for their own lives? I am now an Independent Director of the Entrepreneurship Development Fund "Damu", and I see that in no other country are entrepreneurs given assistance like they are in Kazakhstan. This needs to be taken advantage of. However, due to the fact that many people refuse to believe that it is possible in our reality to become successful and financially independent, they do not fully avail themselves of the programmes on offer. As I have already pointed out, to change the situation people need to be motivated, to be shown the examples of successful people, to be inspired.
- Not so long ago a study was conducted which revealed that around 22 to 25 percent of young people in Kazakhstan would like to leave the country and move to another state. The main reasons cited for this decision were low wages and the inability to realise their full potential in Kazakhstan. What measures should be taken to ensure that young people do not harbour such desires to leave the country?
- I think that in order to encourage young people to stay here, to want to have children and so on, we simply need to set up conditions that are better than anywhere else. This is the path that was taken by Singapore, an Eastern country like Kazakhstan. For example, it's actually very easy to start a business there - it can be done in a few hours over the Internet; the best infrastructure in the world was created in order for young people to stay in the country, or to return after their graduation. They understand that it is rare to come across such a favourable environment in the world, and moreover it is pleasant to return home equipped with new knowledge that can assist in the development of one's country. In Singapore, investors are not burdened with excessive taxes, and they attract the best professionals in their fields. All the right conditions are put in place for obtaining a good education and position. And they have achieved all this without even having their own natural resources.
In Kazakhstan there is an acute problem of corruption, which is a serious constraint not only to development, but also to the efficient use of human capital assets. As a result, many state programmes do not achieve significant results. Nevertheless, there are successful examples - such as the "Bolashak" programme. In order for those people educated at the world's leading universities to want to stay here, it is now necessary to adapt this country's environment: creating opportunities, the possibility of starting a family - that is, the same conditions that they have witnessed overseas.
- It's no secret that due to the harsh conditions in rural areas, people are forced to move to the cities in search of a better life. How can this situation be resolved?
- Until we begin to send qualified professionals to the countryside, and as long as we do not offer quality education that enables school leavers to enter any international university, we cannot change this situation. It's high time to put these conditions in place. Currently there is an initiative called "Got your degree - go to the countryside!", but it needs to be made more transparent, together with an awareness that without the villages, we cannot build a happy country.
To do this, we need to think about what conditions these professionals need to be provided with, what salary they'll be paid and where they will actually live. As a matter of fact, everything depends on infrastructure. How many years has the state been getting windfall from oil? What has been preventing the building up and development of the country all this time? Kazakhstan has to have its own strategy - including a clear understanding of our competitive advantage, rather than trying to spend money just for the sake of utilising the budget.
