"20 under 20": Kazakhstan launches a rating of young IT leaders

Digital Business together with Yandex Qazaqstan announced the launch of the "20 under 20" rating — a list of Kazakhstan's twenty most promising IT talents under the age of twenty. The organizers will look for school and university students who already build products, win olympiads and launch startups.

The appearance of such ratings is a sign of a maturing IT ecosystem: the market cares not only about established companies but about the people who will define it in five to ten years. For young participants it is a social lift; for the industry, a way to show career role models to the next generation.

Businesses in Kazakhstan should view such lists pragmatically. First, they are a ready source of interns and juniors with proven motivation — arranging a practicum with a talented student is cheaper than poaching a senior. Second, they are a barometer: whatever the most capable youngsters are busy with is what the market will be busy with in a few years. If the list is wall-to-wall AI projects, the question "does my business need this" can be considered closed.