In accordance with efforts of the Government of Kazakhstan (GoK) to diversify the country’s economy, the Competitive Industries and Innovation Program (CIIP) had awarded a grant for Technical Assistance (TA) to support development of competitive industries in non-extractive sectors in Kazakhstan. The objective of the TA was to support the development of higher value-added production and increased competitiveness of non-extractive industries in order to contribute to job creation in the regions. The work was primarily to focus on increasing the competitiveness of the industry along its value chain, and on job creation.

The TA aimed to achieve its objective by helping the Government of Kazakhstan work with the private sector to pilot an approach to the development of competitive industries that is based on international good practices, tailored to the Kazakhstan context.

The assignment consisted in the assessment and identification of the most suitable high-potential sub-industries in non-extractive sectors for private sector development and subsequent formulation of an informed recommendation of a minimum of two sub-industries in non-extractive sectors suitable for the implementation of two pilot projects to be implemented by the World Bank in a joint effort with the Government of Kazakhstan.

The sub-industries and regions were to be chosen taking into account the following criteria:

• Potential for increased competitiveness;
• Potential for job creation;
• Deeper integration with global value chains;
• Alignment with existing Government programs and strategies;
• SME growth

In the context of the assignment 19 pre-determined industries were screened in a pre-selection process, which led to the selection of 5 industries with the best development potential.

The thereafter performed in-depth analysis of the five selected industries and their sub-industries in the eight regions under study resulted in the recommendation of three sub-industries most suitable for pilot projects.

The recommendations included detailed assessments of the agribusiness sector and opportunities for SME linkage to lead firms.