It’s not every day that Kazakhstan gets to be in the startup spotlight, but that should all change in two weeks when a notable industry conference will take center stage in the Central Asian country. There’s a lot to like about the country’s burgeoning startup scene and all that information will get condensed down to a single-day conference, the Qazaqstan Technology Forum, taking place from the capital city of Astana in two weeks.
The conference is recognized as one of the country’s most important startup events and throughout the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region.
This year’s conference is happening as part of the series Techstars Startup Week Kazakhstan and will take place Oct. 12 at The Rixos President Hotel Astana.
In past editions, the forum has included participation from President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, Nobel Peace Prize laureates, prominent politicians, scientists, and important businesspeople highlighting the remarkable innovation ecosystem in Central Asia.
This year’s panels discussion will focus on the development of a venture capital environment for businesses to get crucial funding, the installation of smart cities throughout the world, and how to take your startup to the top using some tried and true practices.
Among the presenters at the forum are politicians, international organization leaders and successful entrepreneurs at brands like the World Bank, 500 Startups, and TechCrunch, including:
- Anurag Maloo, Techstars Regional Manager for South and Central Asia
- Askar Zhumagaliyev, Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan
- Conrad Egusa, CEO at Publicize PR and ESPACIO Media Incubator and Mentor at 500 Startups
- Ralph Heinrich, Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
- Michael Lim, Economic Affairs Officer at United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
There will also be representatives from the World Bank in attendance. In 2016, Kazakhstan and the World Bank launched the Fostering Productive Innovations Project to promote technological and business advancements in the country.
“Sustainability of results and further sector development is one of the important parameters for the World Bank’s selective approach to the financing of the development projects,” said Ato Brown, World Bank Country Manager for Kazakhstan, at the time.
The conference will last from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. local Kazakhstan time as panels go over the aforementioned topics as well as Industry 4.0 technology and new trends in the international startup scene.
