Fractional CFO services in Astana

Astana is Central Asia's most deliberate tech capital - a state-built innovation corridor in Kazakhstan's Esil district designed to compete with Dubai and Singapore for technology company registrations. Astana Hub, opened in 2018 adjacent to the EXPO 2017 site, now hosts more than 1,600 registered tech companies including 425+ with foreign participation.

The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), operating under English common law with its own courts, provides a parallel financial zone with 0% corporate income tax guaranteed until 2066 - making the city the dominant jurisdiction of choice for Kazakhstani founders structuring international investment rounds. Astana Hub recorded 40% investment growth and 52% growth in tech-service exports in 2024 alone.

We work with Astana-based startups from seed to Series B+, supporting them on cap table management, FP&A, board packs, fundraise prep and pricing decisions.

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Astana startup ecosystem

What makes Astana's startup ecosystem distinct - state-built infrastructure, tax advantages, legal regime and the pipeline of talent feeding the capital's fast-growing tech sector.

Astana Hub: 1,600 tech companies, 0% CIT

Astana Hub is Kazakhstan's flagship national technopark and a Special Economic Zone occupying the former EXPO 2017 site in the Esil district. Resident companies qualify for 0% corporate income tax, 0% VAT, 0% personal income tax and 0% social tax on ICT-derived revenues. In 2024, more than 500 new companies joined, bringing the total to 1,600 registered participants - including 425+ with foreign ownership.

AIFC: English common law, 0% tax until 2066

The Astana International Financial Centre operates as a separate jurisdiction under English common law - complete with its own court system staffed by international judges - and provides 0% CIT, 0% personal income tax on dividends and full VAT exemption, all guaranteed by statute until 2066. AIFC has become the dominant legal domicile for Kazakhstani fintech startups raising from international VCs who require common-law contract enforceability.

Esil district and the EXPO corridor

Astana Hub occupies the modernist EXPO 2017 pavilions in the Esil district on the left bank of the Ishim River - purpose-built infrastructure that gives the tech park an unusual physical coherence. The AIFC Financial District sits adjacent, concentrating fintech operators, asset managers and development-finance institutions within walking distance of the tech park. Nazarbayev University - Kazakhstan's leading English-language research university - anchors the talent pipeline from the right-bank campus.

Govtech and AI driven by state digital transformation

Kazakhstan's e-government agenda - accelerated by the mandatory Aitu super-app integration across government agencies in 2025 - has created a structural demand signal for govtech, identity and AI companies domiciled in Astana. The state's Digital Kazakhstan programme, combined with Astana Hub's corporate innovation partnerships with Samruk-Kazyna and sovereign entities, makes the capital the highest-density market for public-sector procurement-ready tech companies in Central Asia.

Astana's landmark companies

Companies founded, AIFC-domiciled or Astana Hub-resident that represent the most advanced companies in Kazakhstan's state-built innovation corridor.

Cerebra

AI-powered stroke diagnosis platform that identifies cerebrovascular events within three minutes using medical imaging analysis. Founded in Kazakhstan and registered as an AIFC member, Cerebra has expanded into international markets and is one of Astana Hub's most-cited portfolio success stories in the deep-tech and medtech vertical.

Aitu

Kazakhstan's national super-app, combining messaging, a payment wallet, mini-programmes and government service integrations. Restructured in 2024 under AIFC-registered Phoenix Fund LP with Kazakhtelecom holding 49.98%. In 2025, Kazakhstan's government mandated Aitu as the official communications platform for all state agencies - creating a structurally protected distribution moat and the country's clearest example of a govtech-consumer hybrid at national scale.

Kaspi.kz (AIFC-listed)

Kazakhstan's dominant super-app - payments, lending, e-commerce and government services - dual-listed on the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq with a market cap above $10 billion. Kaspi's primary listing migration to the Astana International Exchange (AIX), operated within the AIFC, positioned the AIFC as the regional home for large-cap technology listings and set a benchmark for Kazakhstan-founded companies seeking international capital markets access.

Halyk Bank Digital

Halyk Bank - Kazakhstan's largest bank by assets - has built one of Central Asia's most advanced digital banking platforms, processing tens of millions of transactions monthly via Homebank. Halyk's tech spinouts and digital ventures are Astana Hub participants, and the bank functions as a strategic corporate partner for fintech startups building on Kazakhstan's financial rails.

Stocks.kz

Kazakhstan-focused retail investment platform providing access to AIX-listed and international securities, targeting the country's rapidly growing retail investor base. Representative of the AIFC-driven wave of capital-markets infrastructure companies building on the legal and regulatory foundation that the AIFC English common law jurisdiction and financial services licensing regime provides.

NRG (Astana Hub portfolio)

Energy-tech platform developed within the Astana Hub ecosystem, targeting Kazakhstan's utilities and natural resources sector - one of the largest in Central Asia. Representative of the Astana Hub accelerator's industrial deeptech track, which runs alongside the consumer and SaaS cohorts and leverages Kazakhstan's proximity to Samruk-Kazyna sovereign industrial assets as an enterprise customer base.

Astana's government programmes and special economic zones

Astana operates the most concentrated set of state-backed tech incentives in Central Asia - 0% CIT via Astana Hub residency, a parallel English common law jurisdiction in the AIFC, and structured acceleration programmes with direct government and sovereign-fund co-investment. These are the flagship programmes Astana-based founders engage with.

Astana Hub - 0% Tax Regime

Astana Hub is Kazakhstan's national IT technopark and Special Economic Zone, established by Presidential decree in 2018. Resident status provides 100% reduction of corporate income tax, 0% VAT, 0% personal income tax and 0% social tax - provided revenues derive exclusively from priority ICT activities. The tech park hosted 1,600 companies by end-2024, with investment into residents rising 40% year-on-year. Includes a co-working campus, startup acceleration cohorts and a global corporate innovation programme run with Google for Startups.

AIFC Fintech Hub

AIFC Fintech Hub is the fintech accelerator and innovation arm of the Astana International Financial Centre. It runs the Fintechstars programme - a structured accelerator selecting fintech startups from across the CIS and Central Asia for a cohort-based programme with access to AIFC-licensed banks (Halyk, VTB, Al Hilal), KPMG and Microsoft as corporate partners. AIFC's English common law jurisdiction and 0% tax regime until 2066 make it the primary domicile for Kazakhstani fintechs targeting international capital.

Astana International Tech Park

The Astana Hub campus within the former EXPO 2017 pavilions in the Esil district provides physical infrastructure - managed office space, co-working, meeting and event facilities - alongside the tech-park residency regime. The campus houses Astana Hub's innovation accelerator (the Astana Innovation Accelerator), Google for Startups alumni, and the corporate R&D labs of Samruk-Kazyna subsidiaries. The Digital Nomad Visa - available to foreign tech professionals operating through Astana Hub - is processed through the same campus administration.

Digital Nomad Visa and foreign talent access

Kazakhstan's Digital Nomad Visa, administered through the Astana Hub regime, allows foreign technology professionals and founders to live and work in Kazakhstan without a standard work permit. Combined with Astana Hub's 0% personal income tax for non-resident foreign employees of resident companies, it provides one of the most tax-efficient talent-access mechanisms available in the CIS region - directly relevant to Astana-based startups competing with Russian, Ukrainian and Eastern European talent markets.

Astana startup accountants vs Flow fractional CFO

Astana-based startups typically work with a licensed audit or tax firm for statutory accounts, CIT compliance under the Astana Hub or AIFC regime, and annual IFRS reporting required by institutional investors. That statutory work is mandatory - but it does not replace a fractional CFO.

Astana startup accountants

Statutory accounts, corporate income tax (CIT), AIFC and Astana Hub regime compliance, IFRS reporting. The firms most used by venture-backed companies in Astana.

KPMG Kazakhstan
Big Four presence in Astana and Almaty, with a dedicated fintech and growth-stage practice covering AIFC structuring, tax compliance and audit for VC-backed companies.
PwC Kazakhstan
Astana office covering AIFC entity advisory, Astana Hub tax-regime compliance and IFRS audit for tech companies raising international institutional rounds.
Deloitte Kazakhstan
Covers audit, tax compliance and transfer pricing for dual-entity Kazakhstan/AIFC structures, with a growing technology and startup practice in Astana.
Leinonen Kazakhstan
Outsourced accounting and payroll specialist with specific expertise in Astana Hub resident-status compliance, frequently used by foreign-invested tech companies.
Signum Law (tax practice)
Boutique Almaty/Astana firm advising on Astana Hub residency applications, AIFC company formation and the ongoing tax-incentive compliance requirements for ICT-sector companies.

Flow fractional CFO

Financial modelling, FP&A and fundraise prep. We work alongside your accountant - not instead of them.

Builds the financial model - revenue assumptions, headcount, unit economics, runway.
Sets up the monthly FP&A cycle: budget, forecast vs actual, variance analysis.
Puts together the monthly board pack - P&L, cash, KPIs and forward outlook.
Prepares the fundraise: investor model, deck financials, data room and diligence prep.
Keeps the cap table tidy and handles option grants and valuations across AIFC, Astana Hub and offshore holding structures.
Reports on the KPIs that move the business - ARR, gross margin, CAC payback, retention.
Pressure tests hiring, pricing and big spend decisions against the model before the founder commits.
Sits in board meetings and is embedded week-to-week, not just engaged annually for compliance.

Simple pricing

No hidden costs, no complicated long-term contracts. We understand how important flexibility is for Astana startups.

Core£4,000

Per month

Accounting / FP&A tech stack implementation
Monthly financial statements and reporting pack
Quarterly board pack with detailed financial analysis (with variance analysis vs. budget, relevant KPI observations etc.)
Investor-friendly output

Grow£8,000

Per month

Everything in Core, plus
Operating model (via an online platform like Runway or Excel-based)
Ongoing model maintenance, refining projections, burn/runway management
Customer cohorts modelling, churn and retention analysis
LTV / CAC, unit economics analysis
Cap table management

Pro£12,000

Per month

Everything in Grow, plus
M&A / fundraising support; review of business plan
Pitch deck preparation
Investor approach strategy / list building
Due diligence support and deal negotiation
Valuation as required and free access to Multiples Pro

Packages shown are illustrative, final pricing is tailored to client requirements.

Recently completed fractional CFO projects

Selected fractional CFO engagements and prior CFO experience.

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Got questions?

Schedule a call ordrop us an email to learn more about our CFO-as-a-service, capital raising and M&A advisory offering.

Unlike old-school financial advisory firms that are stuck in the past, we truly understand tech and challenges startups face. Decades of investment banking experience allow us to see bigger picture, strategically integrate into your workflows, and ultimately provide guidance towards an M&A exit or the next funding round.

Fractional CFO services in Astana