I was raised in Shar, a small town in East Kazakhstan located about 100 miles from the former Soviet nuclear testing site - Polygon. I grew up with my mother and younger sister in a modest home with a large garden where we grew vegetables, pickled them for winter, and raised chickens and rabbits. From an early age, I witnessed the physical and emotional toll that the testing site had left on our community. My mother, a social worker, regularly welcomed marginalized individuals and elderly people into our home. I grew up surrounded by conversations about pensions, disability benefits, and support for vulnerable communities. These experiences deeply shaped my worldview and taught me the importance of compassion, service, and giving back to the community.
When it came time to pursue higher education, I chose to study social work at East Kazakhstan Humanitarian University in Oskemen, East Kazakhstan. In college, I became active in debate clubs and eventually founded a public speaking club to help students find their voice. After graduating, I worked as a school psychologist supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds. However, I felt a strong calling to serve my city, Oskemen, in a different way and pursued a long-held dream of joining the police force.
After completing a year of Army in South Kazakhstan and six months at the police academy, I became a police officer, initially tasked with combatting drug trafficking. The work was demanding and often dangerous, but it taught me discipline, resilience, and the importance of justice. After two years, I transitioned to the Public Affairs department, where I worked as a journalist reporting on crime and human-interest stories. One of my proudest achievements during this time was an investigative piece I wrote about Kazakhstani veterans of the Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989), which earned me a medal from the Mayor of East Kazakhstan.
My sister had received a scholarship to Indiana University in the U.S., and she persistently encouraged me to visit the U.S. With her support, I used my savings to enroll in an English language program at Indiana University. Living in the U.S. opened my eyes to the power of entrepreneurship and the strength of civil society. I began to think seriously about how Kazakhstan—and Central Asia more broadly—could adapt similar models to drive economic and social development.
After a year in the U.S., I returned to Kazakhstan and took a role as a student career advisor at Nazarbayev University in Astana. While I found the work fulfilling, I felt compelled to create something of my own. In 2015, after participating in the U.S. State Department’s Open World Program and being inspired by American social entrepreneurs, I launched GreenTAL—a social enterprise aimed at empowering people with disabilities.
Today, GreenTAL employs around 65 people, more than 90% of whom have disabilities. We specialize in furniture-making and sewing, supplying corporate clients with high-quality goods. Alongside running GreenTAL, I took part in a British Council program on social entrepreneurship and began advocating for stronger legal protections for marginalized communities. I headed a working group to draft Kazakhstan’s first Law on Social Entrepreneurship, which was signed into law by the President in 2021.
Over the years, I have consulted for international organizations including the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), UNDP, World Bank, and Eurasia Foundation—focusing on women’s economic empowerment, inclusive development, and social entrepreneurship. These experiences led me to a realization: Central Asian nations, with their shared Soviet legacy and similar socio-economic challenges, must work together.
In 2025, I launched the Social Innovation Hub, a regional platform designed to unite social entrepreneurs across Central Asia. The Hub promotes collaboration, innovation, and inclusive growth across borders—because I believe lasting impact requires a united and regionally-driven effort.
