Our Team

Aziz Soltobaev — Founder & Principal Officer

Aziz Soltobaev is the Founder and Executive Chairman of KG Labs Public Foundation. He co-founded the Foundation in 2015 with Emily Youatt and has served as its principal officer through the present period. His work concentrates on responsible AI governance, digital public infrastructure, e-governance, digital skills and competencies, ICT and the digital economy, ecommerce and digital marketing, and policy advisory across Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia.

Artificial Intelligence Fellowships

• Stimson Center & Microsoft Office of Responsible AI (August 2023 – present) — Fellow with the Strategic Foresight Hub at Stimson and Microsoft’s Office of Responsible AI, examining AI applications and their impacts in developing countries.
• Atlantic Council AI Connect (March 2022 – present) — Fellow with the GeoTech Center, an initiative encouraging the responsible stewardship of AI technologies in line with the OECD AI Principles and empowering low- and middle-income countries to participate in the global, multi-stakeholder conversation on AI policy.
• Center for AI and Digital Policy (CAIDP) (January – April 2023) — Passed the certification programme with distinction; included a multi-part test, country AI policy overview, and the Statement of Professional Ethics for AI Policy.
• CAIDP Fellowship Certificate — Formal fellowship credential from the Center for AI and Digital Policy. View certificate.
• BlueDot Impact — AI Governance — Course certification in AI governance. View certification.

Sister Institutions Co-Founded

• Internet Society Kyrgyz Chapter (ISOC KG) (June 2015 – present) — Co-founder and Programmes Manager. Sister organisation to the Foundation; programme record is documented separately at isoc.kg.
• Association of Business Angels of Central Asia (ABACA) (June 2022) — Co-founder with Rinat Abdrasilov.
• Kyrgyz Go Federation — Founding contributor.

Public Service Roles

• Public Adviser on Digital Development, Administration of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic and Office of the Prime Minister (January 2017 – March 2018) — Engaged decision-makers on digital trends and policy alternatives; helped draft government communications strategy on information technologies; reviewed government IT infrastructure; presented the Taza Koom Digital Strategy across stakeholder forums.
• Public Adviser to the Minister of Education (later Vice Prime Minister), Kyrgyz Republic (April 2014 – December 2016) — Helped raise preschool education reach from 14% in 2014 to 22% (above the 2017 target); advised on updating school standards; introduced Creative Commons standards and digital textbooks; developed IT and digitalisation curricula.
• Digital Development Expert, National Institute of Strategic Studies of the Kyrgyz Republic (January 2014 – December 2016) — Contributed to the report Open Data Readiness of the Kyrgyz Republic (2015); presented the National Digital Forum keynote Kyrgyzstan in the Age of Innovation Century and Knowledge Economy (2016); moderated the Kyrgyz Economic Forum digital development discussions (2014).

Selected Independent Consulting

• Country researcher for Kyrgyzstan, Global Index on Responsible AI (GIRAI) 1st Edition, 2023.
• Contributor to Kazakhstan’s National AI Policy review (CAIDP, 2023).
• Trainer for 75 trainers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan on cross-border marketplaces, payment solutions, and ecommerce export, ITC Intracen Ready4Trade Programme (2021–2023).
• Helped establish the independent Internet Exchange Point in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and localised international edge network solutions (Cloudflare, Apple, Facebook, Gcore, i/f/k root servers) to strengthen Uzbek network resilience (2021–2022).
• Prepared the School Connectivity Playbook for Central Asia for UNICEF Office of Innovation (New York), GIGA Accelerate Project (2021–2022).
• Drafted the National Digital Skills and Competencies Strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic, UNDP (2020).
• Conducted Science, Technology and Innovation Gap Analysis in the Kyrgyz Republic for UNECE Geneva (2020).
• Lead author, Osh City and Osh Oblast ICT Development Roadmap 2019–2023, GIZ NAWI Project (2019).

Education and Recognition

• International Leaders Programme, FCO UK (September 2018) — Selected as one of ten potential global leaders in a global competition; high-level meetings with UK Government, Parliament, think tanks, and community organisations.
• Central Asia & Caucasus Institute, The Johns Hopkins University — Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Washington DC (May 2014).
• Bachelor of Arts in Financial Economics (minor in Business Administration), American University of Central Asia (June 2004).

Professional Memberships

Association of Young Entrepreneurs · Kyrgyz Association of Software Developers · RIPE community member · Internet Society member · IEEE community member.

Languages: Russian, English, Kyrgyz. Contact: [email protected] · linkedin.com/in/azizkin