In the ex-USSR, there are no more than forty “about-billionaires” who could boast of an honestly earned billion. One of them is the Kazakh venture investor Kenes (Kenges) Rakishev. Earlier we have already talked about Rakishev, today we will shed light on some other facts of Kenges (Kenes) Rakishev biography.
According to media reports, Kenes (Kenges) Rakishev intends to invest several hundred million dollars in launching environmentally friendly mines at one of the largest deposits of cobalt and nickel in Kazakhstan. According to the plans of the businessmen, work on the extraction of ore will begin in three years, they will be delivered to Russia and some Asian countries. According to experts, this project can be considered promising if you look at the situation on the nickel market. But the price of cobalt is not yet encouraging.
The deposit is located near Semipalatinsk. According to Kenes (Kenges) Rakishev, the total ore reserves are estimated at almost 55 million tons. The content of nickel in it is estimated at 406 thousand tons, cobalt is at almost 30 thousand tons. Experimental and technological work has already been completed here, wells and all the rest of the infrastructure of the first mine have been prepared. In 3 years, a cluster should appear here, which will include several ready-made mines. The project provides for the production of not only nickel, but also other metals obtained on its basis. The demand for them in recent years has been constantly growing in the global industry. Therefore, all industrially developed countries and regions, including Japan, the United States, and the European Union, can become potential buyers.
The mine will use underground leaching technology. Its principle is that a special solvent is injected through the wells, in which the ore containing the necessary minerals is dissolved. After that, the ore is pumped to the surface. This technology is used in the uranium industry, but so far it has been little used in nickel mining. If the production cycle at this field is successful, the cost of nickel production will be one of the lowest in the world. Currently, the cost of this metal on the LME is just over 12 thousand dollars per ton.
Some of Kenes Rakishev earlier works and ideas
#1 in this list is the Finney blockchain smartphone with the functions of a cryptocurrency wallet and the ability to conduct electronic transactions. It takes into account all the vulnerabilities of the blockchain processes and installs a data protection system from the previous Solarin gadget, which no one has managed to crack. The estimated cost of the device is $999, and the amount required for the release of this cryptotelephone is $25 million.
#2 – a high-speed blockchain computer with a large amount of RAM, equipped with several levels of cyber protection, including biometric, with a recommended price of $799. Another $25 million was needed for its production.
But the interest in digital markets in the world and the need for products of this level of protection is so great that in the first 10 hours of the ICO, a record $93 million was collected. And now Sirin labs can release not only all three planned devices, including the Shield OS operating system for secure operations with cryptocurrencies, but also develop further.
It remains only to add that at the insistence of Kenes (Kenges) Rakishev, the series was named after the first miner and owner of the first bitcoin, American Hal Finney, and one of the most famous and highest-paid football players of our time, Lionel Messi, acted as an advertising ambassador for the ICO campaign.
Kenes (Kenges) Rakishev is quite young by the standards, but an extremely talented financier, philanthropist, shareholder and philanthropist, who is known in many parts of our planet. Kenges Rakishev, a successful businessman, philanthropist, public figure and venture investor, whose experience has allowed us to successfully implement many large projects. Kenes Rakishev was educated as a lawyer and economist.
Here is just one of the latest projects of Kenes Rakishev. Many children are born with minor pathologies that are completely curable with rapid intervention. One of these pathologies is hip dysplasia. It is found in about 80% of newborns and infants aged 7 days to 3 months. And if it is not treated, then in the future the child will become disabled.
But recently, a solution to this problem was found. Two women with medical education have developed special knitted pants “Yerketai” with a plate that eliminates the pathology in a fairly short time. The project turned out to be so unique that it got into the final of the “Build Your Own Business” contest and received a grant for $10 thousand.
Why did Kenes (Kenges) Rakishev mention this project?
The Kazakh businessman and other members of the jury of the competition like not only unique, but also useful for society business projects. What is the use of “Yerketai” pants? A special plastic insert and a special design of the pants have a noticeable therapeutic effect: the congenital pathology is quickly eliminated. Kenes (Kenges) Rakishev made a decision to make this charity project nationwide at all costs.
According to Rakishev Kenes (Kenges) and Aselle Tasmagambetova, the key feature of these pants is the lack of analogues and simplicity. Any mother can use the pants. The effectiveness of pants is also already proven: they save up to 95% of babies from dislocation and disability. And the earlier you start treatment, the better the result will be.
Why do the project authors need a grant? The women who presented the knitted pants “Yerketai” at the competition want to develop their business. They plan to buy new plates at the orthopaedic plant in Astana, as well as to refine and improve their own plates. It is important for the authors of the project that any mother can afford her baby pants.
According to the authoritative Forbes publication, Kenes Rakishev occupied the fifth position in the list of the most influential businessmen in Kazakhstan. For the US and Europe, he is an investor in Mobli and the first Kazakh entrepreneur on the US NASDAQ exchange. For startups, Kenes (Kenges) Rakishev is a guardian angel, whose patronage definitely brings success. Thanks to his rich experience, this investor successfully implements a huge number of major projects.
A well-known businessman and philanthropist is married to Aselle Tasmagambetova, they raise two sons: Dinmukhamed and Nuriddin Rakishev. Forbes estimated his net worth at $ 718 million. Kenes (Kenges) Rakishev is the son-in-law of one of the first Kazakhtani statesmen. In 2012, Rakishev’s range of interests as an investor significantly expanded — the businessman aimed at promising innovative start-ups in the United States, Israel and Russia. At the end of 2012, he entered the TOP 10 private investors in the world.
Kenes Rakishev is an investor and chairman of the board of directors of the popular social network Mobli (he invested $20 million in the service for posting photos and video content). In 2014, Rakishev became a major investor in Magnum Cash & Carry, the largest retail chain in Kazakhstan. The size of the investment was not disclosed. The company’s annual revenue is several hundred million dollars. Later he divested his share.
Some important facts about Kenes (Kenges) Rakishev
In 2000, he completed his studies at the Kazakhstan State Academy, in 2002 – at the Kazakh Economic University named after T. Ryskulov. He has a legal and economic education. 2007-diploma of the International Business school Oxford Saïd Business School in Advanced Management (according to the Financial Times Global MBA-2012 rating, the school has the 20th position among the world business schools in the full-time MBA program) and the certificate of the London Business School in the course Developing Strategy for Value Creation.
In November 2006. Kenges (Kenes) Rakishev became the head of the board of directors of SAT & Company holding, which has many branches in the industry (the code of shares on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange KASE-SATC). JSC “SAT & Company” consists of more than 30 major enterprises engaged in metallurgy, construction, mechanical engineering, mining and processing of metals and not only (ferroalloys, chromium, nickel, coal, zinc), oil trading. In the period 2008-2010, Turkish and Chinese companies engaged in the extraction of ferromanganese, chromium and nickel, as well as metallurgical plants producing ferroalloys, were bought out. According to the results of 2011, the company’s total assets amount to 79.2 billion tenge (or USD 528,000,000). Most of the main block of shares belongs to the entrepreneur himself.
In 2010. Kenes (Kenges) Rakishev was an activist of the Otan accumulative pension fund. In 2012, he acquired shares in the Republic Accumulative Pension Fund. Now he is the sole owner of the shares of the insurance company Standard (formerly: IC “Astana-Finance”).
In 2012, Kenes (Kenges) Rakishev’s interest in the investor’s activities increased: he decided on interesting new startups in the United States, Israel and Russia. Kenes (Kenges) Rakishev is known as an independent investor-entrepreneur.
