People of AIFC
At AIFC, every colleague brings more than professional expertise to the team.
Through People of AIFC, we introduce the people behind our organisation, sharing their backgrounds, hobbies, interests, and the experiences that shape who they are.
It’s an opportunity to get to know our colleagues from a different perspective and celebrate the diverse community that makes AIFC unique.
Through People of AIFC, we introduce the people behind our organisation, sharing their backgrounds, hobbies, interests, and the experiences that shape who they are.
It’s an opportunity to get to know our colleagues from a different perspective and celebrate the diverse community that makes AIFC unique.
| Following Abai Day, we are sharing the story of our colleague Madina Maimakova, Senior Associate of Policy, Strategy and Risk Division, who has been with AFSA since 2019. Her story shows how one can be open to the world, pursue an international education, and at the same time maintain a deep connection with one’s culture and national identity. |
By the fifth grade, Madina knew around 100 of Abai’s poems by heart, and later became a winner of the Abai Oqulary competition. But she did not initially learn the poems for the sake of competing. Memorising them came naturally to her, while studying with her mother was part of her family upbringing — helping to develop her memory, language skills, broaden her horizons and nurture her curiosity.
Today, Madina looks back on this experience from a broader perspective. Working with poetry helped her develop concentration, the ability to engage with texts, a passion for learning and the habit of thinking independently on what she read.
These skills later helped her graduate from school with a Gold Medal, pursue her education at Nazarbayev University and University College London, and take part in international research programmes in Norway and South Korea. To deepen her expertise in capital markets regulation, Madina also completed an international certification programme for securities market regulators, organised by IOSCO in cooperation with Harvard Law School.
Today, she works in policy and strategy at the Astana Financial Services Authority, where she contributes to the development of regulatory and legislative initiatives in line with international standards. Her interest in international practices continues to go hand in hand with a strong connection to her own culture.
This story particularly resonates with the contemporary understanding of Abai’s legacy. In his article “Abai and Kazakhstan in the 21st Century,” President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev highlights the importance of the concept of Tolyk Adam — the pursuit of knowledge, moral development and continuous self-improvement. These ideas are relevant not only to education, but also to family, society and the state.
This is where the enduring value of Abai’s legacy lies: his ideas continue to shape the way we learn, raise our children, develop ourselves and understand our responsibility to society and our country.
This story particularly resonates with the contemporary understanding of Abai’s legacy. In his article “Abai and Kazakhstan in the 21st Century,” President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev highlights the importance of the concept of Tolyk Adam — the pursuit of knowledge, moral development and continuous self-improvement. These ideas are relevant not only to education, but also to family, society and the state.
This is where the enduring value of Abai’s legacy lies: his ideas continue to shape the way we learn, raise our children, develop ourselves and understand our responsibility to society and our country.
We would like to thank Madina for sharing her story with us and for giving us the opportunity to discover how her love for Abai’s poetry has become part of her journey of learning, self-development and exploration of the world 🤩.
Dear colleagues, if you would also like to share your story, please reach out to Aiganym Ryskulbayeva to be featured in our weekly digest 📩.
Dear colleagues, if you would also like to share your story, please reach out to Aiganym Ryskulbayeva to be featured in our weekly digest 📩.