Mr. Kapparov is an economist and entrepreneurship policy practitioner based in Kazakhstan. He is the Founder of “Ekonomist,” a regional business media and expert platform, and Managing Partner of EMCG, a consulting firm specializing in independent economic and policy research for international organizations and private sector clients. He holds an MBA from Yokohama National University and an MA in Economics from Kazakh National University.
Kassymkhan has over a decade of experience in applied economic research and policy advisory work focused on SME development, economic reform, financial inclusion, and institutional effectiveness in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. He has led evidence-based research projects, stakeholder consultations, and public–private dialogue processes aimed at translating private sector priorities into actionable policy recommendations. Throughout his career, Mr. Kapparov has collaborated with international organizations including the World Bank Group and the Asian Development Bank. As a national consultant to the World Bank Group, he supported the introduction of the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) mechanism in Kazakhstan, contributing to the drafting and adoption of the legislation and training of local experts in cooperation with the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs “Atameken.” He also advised the Government of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of National Economy on the design of the State Program on Services Sector Development.
His research portfolio includes studies on SME finance, financial inclusion, and digitalization, including projects with the Asian Development Bank, Mastercard, and KPMG. In addition to research, Mr. Kapparov promotes regional policy dialogue through the Central Asia International Business Center and the Ekonomist platform, supporting engagement between entrepreneurs, analysts, and policymakers across Central Asia. He has also collaborated with the Nazarbayev University Research Center for Entrepreneurship on field research related to entrepreneurship in the IT and green economy sectors in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.