RECOGNISING AN ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITY: EXPERIENCES OF KAZAKHSTANI STARTUP FOUNDERS AND CO-FOUNDERS

Abstract

As Kazakhstan aims to move towards a digital, knowledge-driven economy, startups have become the centre of discussion and attention locally. Examining how these “innovative” businesses are created, it is impossible to overlook the significance of the process of entrepreneurial opportunity recognition, which is one of the first steps to starting any business, as the question arises as to what factors may affect this process. This research aimed to find possible answers to this question via exploring the entrepreneurial opportunity recognition experiences of Kazakhstani startup (co-)founders. The study took a qualitative form, and 6 semi-structured interviews with 2 non-participant observation sessions were conducted. Three broad categories of factors were considered, namely internal, intermediary, and external, and the analysis of the data revealed that the Kazakhstani startup (co-)founders, who were interviewed and observed, connect their entrepreneurial opportunity recognition experiences with internal to their personalities and/or business ideas factors. It is expected that the findings presented in this research will have policy-related applications in the sectors of the Kazakhstani economy that deal with startups. Knowing about the role of internal factors, more effective support programs for “innovative” businesses, such as startups, that contribute to a locally targeted, digital knowledge-driven economy can be developed.