Central Asian startups and corporations merge on a new platform
The AIFC Tech Hub and “Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF) Accelerator” have launched CorpUp Central Asia, where a joint team of experts will help companies of Central Asia and CIS to work with innovation and increase business efficiency.
CorpUp Central Asia is a platform where experts of the AIFC Tech Hub and “IIDF Accelerator” help corporations find mature technological solutions for business challenges, implement a product approach, and develop a culture of innovation and internal entrepreneurship among employees. All this will allow companies to reduce the cost of innovation and accelerate the introduction of new products to the market.
CorpUp Central Asia was created by a team that has implemented over 30 corporate accelerators for large businesses, created one of the largest bases of technology startups in the CIS, and deeply understands the market and technological challenges of companies from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, and others.
In 2021, the teams of the AIFC Tech Hub and “IIDF Accelerator” with the support of the international payment system Mastercard launched the first fintech accelerator of Kazakhstan for technology startups interested in working with the country’s banks. Solutions were searched in 11 areas and 272 applications to the accelerator were being considered. Altyn Bank, Eurasian Bank, and Freedom Finance Bank have become partners of the program.
“This project showed great demand for innovative startup solutions in Kazakhstan and the attractiveness of the region in terms of business growth, joint testing, and implementation of technologies. We invite corporations from various industries to cooperate, and B2B startups to offer their solutions to participate in future CorpUp Central Asia programs”, – said Asel Abdrakhmanova, Head of Corporate Innovation at the AIFC Tech Hub.
“The interest in technology in Kazakhstan will only increase. There are great prospects for corporations in the region, and with the right approach, there is an opportunity to become major players in the CIS and beyond. However, most Central Asian corporations have not yet built a systematic work with startups, and startups are not always able to offer a solution. To remove these barriers and support the technological development of corporations in the region, together with our partners we decided to create a platform where startups and corporations can effectively interact”, – said Irina Tarasova, Director of the Department of Corporate Programs of the IIDF.
To learn more about CorpUp Central Asia’s services and projects, and to explain your business challenge, please visit https://corpup.aifc.kz/
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The Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) is an independent jurisdiction launched in 2018. In accordance with the Development Strategy till 2025, the key task of the AIFC is to consolidate as a universal platform connecting the countries of the EAEU, Central Asia, and the Caucasus.
The AIFC Tech Hub is a subdivision of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), whose task is to promote the development of the startup ecosystem, venture industry market, e-commerce, corporate innovation, and new technological areas in Kazakhstan (FinTech, GovTech, SatelliteTech, Industry 4.0., etc.). Together with international partners, The AIFC Tech Hub conducts programs to support market players, as well as facilitates the structuring of venture deals and testing of new fintech solutions within the regulatory sandbox of the AIFC jurisdiction.
https://tech.aifc.kz
“IIDF Accelerator” is one of the key players in the corporate innovation market in Russia. Since 2013, we have been helping corporations to find and integrate startup solutions, develop products and people within the company, organize corporate accelerators and startup pilot programs, as well as internal entrepreneurship and leader development programs for Russia’s largest companies. We are in the top 5 by a number of early-stage deals in the world; are the most active seed fund in Europe; have implemented 250+ internal consulting projects and 25+ scouting programs for corporations. https://corporate.iidf.ru/
