The impetus to form an American Chamber of Commerce in Kazakhstan came from the US Embassy's Commercial Service in Almaty. Prior to AmCham’s establishment, the US Commercial Service sponsored Business Roundtables on a monthly basis. These informal luncheon meetings provided a forum for American, other foreign, and local companies - interested in the latest economic, business, and political developments in Kazakhstan - to meet and exchange information.
By 1998 a significant amount of American companies had established businesses in Kazakhstan, and the informal meetings naturally needed to evolve into something more formal, where business people could have the chance to raise their concerns about the business environment and investment climate in Kazakhstan at the Government level. Several individuals volunteered to write by-laws, register a legal non-profit organization, and start a membership drive. This became the foundation for AmCham in Kazakhstan as we know it today.
In the fall of 1998, 36 companies agreed to become Charter members, providing the Chamber a financial basis with which to start operations, open an office, and hire staff. An interim Board of Directors was elected by the Charter members, and a small office housed within the US Embassy’s Commercial Service premises then located on Seiffulina St. was opened with the help of an interim part-time Executive Director and local volunteer interns, during which time the Chamber established itself as a legal entity in Kazakhstan, opened a bank account, and started to receive membership fees, growing to 59 members by the end of 1999. The official founding of the Chamber dates from mid-1999.
During this time a Foreign Investment Working Group was established; it became the first official AmCham working group, closely followed by working groups designed to address issues related to Tax, Customs, Human Resources, IT & Technology,and Corporate Social Responsibility, as the Chamber developed over the years. Today the Chamber has ten Working Groups spread across Almaty, Astana, and Atyrau and has expanded their focus to Customs and Trade, Education and Training, and Tax groups in each city.
In October 1999, the Chamber hired Diana Brett to be the full-time Executive Director. She oversaw the organization of the office and resources, including the first (and second) move to the Chamber’s separate office facilities, hired full-time staff, championed the membership drive, produced AmCham literature and publications, and organized over 100 meetings and events each year, for five years until August 2004. It is Diana Brett who, over the next five years, laid the basis for the AmCham structure and activities that are the backbone of AmCham today.
In early 2000, AmCham hosted its largest and most prestigious BRT event to date with the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Kassymzhomart Tokaev. The event was a resounding success with over 140 Chamber members, embassy representatives and several press delegations. It was an event that firmly grounded AmCham as a serious business organisation, with representatives willing to discuss business and economic issues with Kazakhstan’s leaders as well as its movers and shakers. The slate of BRT speakers has grown, regularly including noted analysts and commentators on public and economic affairs. By the end of 2000, the Chamber had a membership base of over 100, including Corporate, Associate, and Non-Profit Members, and was (and remains) the largest international business association in Kazakhstan.
In 2002 the flagship publication Investors’ Voice was developed and introduced. Since then at least 5 issues are published each year, always drawing much positive feedback. AmCham distributes the magazines regularly throughout the membership and business communities in Kazakhstan and abroad to all AmChams around the world and many government agencies in the United States and Kazakhstan. It now has a readership of 3,000 – members, embassies, 5-star hotels, leading non-members – on every continent. By the magazine’s second year, it was completely self-funding. Each issue is now 50-60 pages long and has a solid advertising revenue base.
There was a remarkable increase in membership during 2003 as the Chamber grew from 118 to 143 Members, and by August 2004, the membership was at 161 members. Today the membership stands at over 200 companies from a very broad range of countries. Membership consists of roughly one-half American companies, with the other half from Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and Kazakhstan. This is a rich diversity that makes AmChams the world over powerful forces within the business community.
This diversity is reflected in the AmCham Board of Directors, for which there are annual elections. Individual members are elected for two years, and partial rotation takes place each year. Nominations come from the membership at large and the entire membership votes in the elections. Current Board membership stands at eleven, including two ex-officio members: the Executive Director and the U.S. Senior Commercial Officer.
Business and social events for AmCham Members over the years are usually well-attended and well-received. The Chamber is able to offer a "little bit for everyone" with events ranging from Corporate Citizenship and Private Partnership workshops to presentations on NASDAQ, Ex-Im Bank, and BRT lunches and dinners with senior government ministers, to speakers analysing the global financial situation and its impact on Kazakhstan – a popular topic over the past 8 months.
The major social networking events each year include the annual U.S. Independence Day, U.S. Thanksgiving, and the black-tie Awards Dinner at which member achievements over the past year are recognized. The latter is particularly popular and is attended by the local business media. Awards are given for a broad range of achievement ranging from Executive of the Year to Women’s Leadership, Community Service, and Support for Kazakh Culture. Honorary Awards such as the U.S. Ambassador’s Award for the Best Contribution to U.S.-Kazakh Relations (presented by the current Ambassador) and the AmCham Honorary Public Service Award also feature as part of the evening. Notable recipients to date have included Industry and Trade Deputy Minister Zhanar Aitjanova, Deputy Prime Minister Yerbol Orynbayev, Halyk Bank/National Bank of Kazakhstan Chairman Grigory Marchenko, and Kazmunaygaz First Vice-President Maksat Idenov.
Sundowners are held each month at popular local restaurants, attract many members and guests (over 150 have attended on occasion), and continue to provide a regular venue for members to meet each other and potential business partners in a relaxed setting. These events also provide opportunities for member companies to sponsor the evening and highlight their particular business.
In 2006 Doris Bradbury joined AmCham as Executive Director, building on the very solid base already created during the Chamber’s early years, increasing membership and budget levels, adding new events such as the Awards Dinner, expanding Investors’ Voice, travelling regularly to Washington D.C.to enhance the Chamber’s relationship with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and to Moscow and Istanbul to participate in the Eurasia Business Platform, strengthening the AmCham relationship with the international financial institutions represented in Kazakhstan (World Bank, International Finance Corporation, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Islamic Development Bank, USAID), and strengthening the relationship with the government of Kazakhstan through the Prime Minister’s Office.
In 2009 the U.S.-Kazakhstan Public-Private Economic Partnership Initiative (PPEPI) was launched under AmCham leadership through a Secretariat in the Chamber’s Almaty office. The program emerged from a meeting in 2007 between Kazakhstan Prime Minister Karim Massimov and U.S. State Department Special Representative on Commercial and Business Affairs Frank Mermoud, and was guided to realization by AmCham President Kenneth Mack. PPEPI provides the Chamber and its business association partners, the U.S.-Kazakhstan Business Association, Atameken, and the Forum of Entrepreneurs with an enhanced ability for advocacy at senior levels of the Kazakhstan government.
