Code or hardware: how an IT company chooses between Astana Hub and AIFZ

Bluescreen published a practical guide for Kazakhstan's IT entrepreneurs: how to choose between Astana Hub participant status and residency in Almaty's innovation financial zone. The author reduces the choice to «what do you actually sell»: the regimes differ in benefits, activity requirements and restrictions, and a decision that works for a product software team may not fit a company tied to hardware supplies or financial services.

The key point: choose not by the size of benefits in the brochure but by the structure of your own revenue two-three years ahead. A typical mistake: a company registers under its current model, then adds a new line — say, an AI product or hardware for it — and discovers the new revenue no longer qualifies.

A practical step for a founder: before filing, map every planned revenue source and check each against the chosen regime. An hour with a specialist consultant at this stage costs less than re-registration and lost margin points later.