Freedom Holding Corp. tests drone delivery as a new logistics model for remote communities

As Nasdaq-listed Freedom Holding Corp., a fintech company with roots in Kazakhstan, expands globally, it is also investing in smaller experimental projects that could later be scaled across multiple markets. One of these projects is cargo drone delivery, a technology that could help improve access to essential goods and services in remote areas.

In Kazakhstan, where large distances, and harsh weather can make even routine trips difficult, unmanned logistics could become a practical tool for people living far from major cities. For residents of settlements far from major urban centers, drones may offer a faster and more reliable way to receive the goods they need.

The project focuses on the gap between cities and auls - rural settlements common in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. In large cities, delivery of groceries, prepared meals, and everyday items has become routine: an order can arrive within 20 minutes without the customer leaving home. For people in small and hard-to-reach settlements, the situation is often very different. To buy medicine, groceries, or other essentials, residents may have to travel dozens of miles to the nearest district center. In winter, during bad weather, or when roads are in poor condition, such trips can take hours and lead to additional costs.

If the technology is scaled, residents of auls could order essential items online and receive packages faster than they would through traditional ground delivery. The solution may be especially useful for medicines, baby food, documents, and other small, time-sensitive shipments that do not require heavy transport. Freedom emphasizes that the project is not simply about buying drones. It is about building the technical and operational foundation for a new type of logistics.

The idea behind the project emerged in December 2024. According to Alexey Lee, CEO of Freedom Lifestyle Group, the idea came from Timur Turlov, founder of Freedom Holding Corp., who suggested that residents of auls should be able to receive food, medicine, and other essentials quickly via drones. That idea led to the creation of Freedom X, a laboratory for ambitious technology projects focused on Kazakhstan’s technological development, digital sovereignty, and the growth of in-house expertise within Freedom.

This approach matters because the problem does not yet have a simple, ready-made solution. The goal is to explore whether a new logistics model can work in places where conventional delivery is slow, expensive, or unreliable. In the case of drones, Freedom is working at the intersection of e-commerce, logistics, aviation regulation, data analysis, and engineering. Such a project requires both ambition and a systematic approach.

Alexey Lee notes that drone manufacturing is already an established industry, with established manufacturers already active in the market. For that reason, Freedom Holding Corp. is not trying to invent every component from scratch. Instead, it is testing different solutions, including DJI drones and aircraft from niche manufacturers. This allows the team to assess the equipment’s real capabilities: flight range, payload capacity, communication reliability, resistance to harsh weather, maintenance needs, and operational limits.

Hardware, however, is only one part of the challenge. For drone delivery to become widespread, the right infrastructure must also be built. Freedom is studying how to create a distributed network of launch pads, organize control centers, develop routing systems, and process large volumes of data. In the future, such a system would need to track cargo location, identify safer routes, determine acceptable operating conditions, allocate drones to orders, and minimize risks.

According to Alexey Lee, the certification system for cargo drone operators is still being formed in Kazakhstan. Until February 2025, there were no certified third-category cargo drone operators in the country. Freedom, together with the Academy of Civil Aviation, has trained the first cohort of specialists, who are now preparing for certification. The theoretical course has already been completed, while the practical training component is being developed with the Academy and the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan.

The project could also create new professions, training programs, certification standards, and rules for operating drones over different types of terrain. Over time, an entirely new labor market may form around drone delivery, including operators, engineers, project managers, logistics specialists, data analysts, and experts in safety and aviation regulation. Freedom has already said it plans to strengthen the team with specialists in aviation, engineering, logistics, data, and regulation.

Freedom Holding’s experience could also be useful in other markets facing similar challenges. In many countries, megacities are the first to receive advanced digital services, while rural and hard-to-reach areas are left behind. Drone delivery may be valuable in mountainous regions, steppe and desert areas, islands, isolated rural settlements, and places where roads are often blocked by snow, flooding, mud, or other seasonal conditions.

If Freedom Holding Corp. expands similar solutions beyond Kazakhstan, the technology could have applications in Central Asia, the Caucasus, parts of the Middle East, and other markets where e-commerce is growing but logistics remain expensive because of long distances. One especially promising model is for drones to cover the “last mile” - the most difficult and costly part of the journey to the end customer - rather than replace all forms of delivery.

Whether the model can be used more widely depends on several factors: legislation, flight costs, equipment reliability, local infrastructure, and user trust. Still, the basic idea behind the project applies widely. The farther someone lives from major logistics hubs, the greater the value of fast autonomous delivery. In cities, drones may compete on speed. In remote areas, they may provide access where conventional delivery is limited or unavailable.

For Freedom Holding Corp., the drone project is also a way to build its own technological expertise. The company already operates in several areas of the digital economy, and the Freedom X laboratory allows it to test ideas that may later become the basis for new services. Even if mass drone delivery is not rolled out immediately, the knowledge gained in data processing, routing, distributed infrastructure management, and specialist training can be used in other products within the group.