inDrive founder swaps Russian passport for Kazakh one  

Arsen Tomsky, the founder and CEO of the international ride-hailing service inDrive, has been granted Kazakh citizenship, he and the Kazakh digital development minister have announced. 

With more than 175 million users, inDrive is the world’s fastest growing ridesharing and taxi service. Based in Silicon Valley, USA, it operates in 47 countries. The company has over 3,000 employees. 

Tomsky’s naturalisation is an asset for Kazakhstan’s ambition to become Eurasia’s biggest digital economy. 

“Arsen Tomsky has become Kazakhstan’s citizen!” Minister of Digital Development Bagdat Musin announced in a Facebook post. 

“In recent years, Kazakhstan has become a gravitation point for talented entrepreneurs from around the world,” Musin said, describing Tomsky as one of the “shining examples”. 

Musin added that the country had begun attracting IT companies with the creation of Astana Hub, a technological park with “ideal conditions” for their work, including special taxation and visa regimes.  

“When they move to Kazakhstan, they transfer their business assets and offices, bringing along many highly qualified specialists, experts and entrepreneurs, who actively introduce new ideas and technologies,” Musin said. 

Minister Musin also said that more than 1,300 “progressive” IT companies, including 378 with foreign capital, are registered at Astana Hub now.  

He added that the government intends to continue to improve conditions for investors in Kazakhstan, including simplifying migration procedures. 

Tomsky himself announced the news in Almaty at an Alternativa Film Awards ceremony – a festival he founded as a platform for films that challenge injustice.   

“I want to thank the country’s leadership for their trust and for their offer, and the whole of Kazakhstan and its people for becoming a second home for inDrive,” he was quoted as saying. 

Tomsky was born in Yakutsk, Russia, where he received a degree in applied mathematics.  

He said in a media interview that because of his “algorithmic” mind and background in mathematics he “naturally, gravitates toward technology to create solutions”. 

He started his business in his home city with an idea to help ordinary people get around the issue of taxi companies banding together and hiking prices in the coldest season, when the demand for their services was at its highest. 

With time, inDrive expanded to offer freight and cargo, intercity transportation, courier delivery and other services.  

“Our mission is to challenge injustice, and a big part of that is providing vital services to areas where they’re not available, whether those services are transportation, delivery, or even a flexible way for someone to make a little extra money,” Tomsky said. 

Kazakh national laws do not allow dual citizenship, which means that Tomsky had to give up his Russian nationality in order to get a Kazakh passport. 

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