Kazakhstan's She's Next initiative empowers 40,000+ women entrepreneurs in five years

Ahead of International Women's Day, Visa and Halyk Bank have announced the upcoming launch of the fifth anniversary wave of the global She's Next initiative in Kazakhstan, aimed at supporting and advancing women's entrepreneurship. This was reported by Visa's press service.

Since 2021, according to the company, more than 40,000 women from Kazakhstan and Central Asia have participated in the initiative. Last year, over 16,000 female entrepreneurs registered for the fourth wave of She's Next, with 2,000 submitting their business plans for evaluation by an expert panel. Thirty finalists with the strongest projects advanced to the final round.

The finalists gathered in Almaty to take part in the two-day She's Next Camp business accelerator. The first day featured educational lectures by leading Kazakhstani businesswomen, group mentoring sessions, and networking activities. On the second day, the finalists presented their projects to a jury comprising representatives from Visa, Halyk Bank, the business community, and the creative industry. Following the presentations, seven winners were selected and awarded grants to develop their businesses.

Today, as Visa emphasized, women's entrepreneurship is one of the key drivers of economic growth. Women are actively expanding trade, services, the beauty industry, hospitality, education, and environmental and social initiatives. Increasingly, they are building sustainable, tech-driven, and socially responsible companies that strengthen regional economies. According to Kazakhstan's Ministry of National Economy, as of December 2025, over 1 million women lead small and medium-sized businesses in the country—accounting for 48.1% of all SMEs.

As noted by Visa's press service, the She's Next initiative has already helped thousands of women gain knowledge, mentorship, and funding. For the fifth anniversary wave, Visa and Halyk Bank are expanding opportunities for female entrepreneurs by introducing a new "Inclusive Business" category alongside the existing "Startup Business," "Established Business," and "IT Business" tracks. This will allow even more women from diverse sectors to compete for grants.