Digital Bridges: (In)formality, Digital Platforms, and Cross-Border Trade in Kazakhstan
Oyuna Baldakova (Kings College London)
Drawing on "globalisation from below," which emphasises grassroots, localised, and often informal processes of global interconnectedness, this talk examines the evolving dynamics of formal and informal trade in Kazakhstan. It focuses on traders who source goods from China and sell them locally through marketplaces like Kaspi and digital platforms such as Instagram. Based on fieldwork interviews conducted in 2022 and 2023 with local traders, Kaspi developers, and logistics experts in Kazakhstan, I examine how traders leverage Kazakhstani diasporas and personal networks abroad and combine technological infrastructures originating from China, Russia, the USA, and Kazakhstan to navigate regulatory frameworks and sustain their sales operations.
The article explores how small- and medium-scale traders employ global and local platforms, including apps like WeChat, AliExpress, Pinduoduo and 1688 for procurement, and Yandex, Kaspi, and Instagram for sales. These platforms enable traders to source goods from international markets and sell locally, operating across a spectrum of formality and informality. The findings reveal varied levels of (in)formality: some traders adhere to regulatory frameworks by using formal logistics routes and marketplaces, while others leverage the flexibility of informal channels such as “cargo” transportation and social media to bypass bureaucratic constraints. This variety highlights the fluidity between formal and informal economies, which are being reshaped by digital transformation.