On February 1 of this year, the results of the "Supplier of the Year-2021" competition were summed up during the final online conference on the "Supplier Development Project in Kazakhstan (hereinafter - PRPC).

The winner of the competition "Supplier of the Year-2021" was a machine-building plant that produces oilfield equipment and provides services in the oil and gas industry of JSC "Kaskor-Mashzavod".

Recall that the competition was held within the framework of the Supplier Development Project in Kazakhstan with the assistance of the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the World Bank,

JSC "Kazakhstan Center of Industry and Export "QazIndustry" (hereinafter – JSC "QazIndustry"), "EUROCONSULTANTS S.A - Branch in Kazakhstan".

Speaking at the conference, Zhandos Gaziz, Deputy Chairman of the Board for Business Development of Kaskor-Mashzavod JSC, noted that during the Project they received support in finding a buyer from multinational companies, took part in meetings with buyers, which allowed them to conduct bilateral negotiations with TNCs (a Multinational company), identify the need for procurement of large companies and start business negotiations. Also, within the framework of the Project, a number of free trainings were held with the participation of international experts in various fields, organized by the company "EUROCONSULTANTS S.A - Branch in Kazakhstan.

Among the significant performance indicators of the PPRC, 101 completed SME accreditation processes in supplier databases and an increase in sales of SMEs participating in the Supplier Development Program totaling more than $65 million were noted. Also, 43 SMEs used the service of reimbursement of part of the costs of international certification, under which expenses of more than 380 million tenge were reimbursed.

The participants of the event also discussed issues of further implementation of the Project to Improve the competitiveness of small and medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), difficulties and achievements during the pandemic, new insights from the PRPC, etc.

Robert McKean, a key expert of the PRPC project, in terms of the sustainability of the PSA project, noted– "After the closure of the World Bank Supplier Development project, a Supplier Development Service remains in Kazakhstan, which employs experienced personnel who have been trained and trained by a group of senior international experts, maintaining the level of support provided by the PSA will be difficult, since the resources of the PRPC project are no longer available.

During the conference, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board

JSC "QazIndustry" Aidar Kakimzhanov announced the readiness of the organization to continue working on the project Supplier Development Service in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Considering that the Supplier Development Service project has come to a logical conclusion, QazIndustry JSC has a clear vision for the further implementation of this project and plans to continue working with current project participants (200 companies, 53 accredited and 147 non-accredited enterprises), to assist in accreditation, obtaining international certificates.

Also, according to Aidar Kakimzhanov, in addition to conducting the Supplier Development Service, suppliers will be provided with state incentives for manufacturing enterprises, namely: an industrial grant, reimbursement of part of the costs and advice in the field of digital transformation.