INNOLAND’s resident successfully represented at the Digital Startup Awards 2025!

On December 12–13, the Grand Final of the international “Digital Startup Awards” program was held in Tashkent, jointly organized by the Ministry of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan, IT Park Uzbekistan and IT Park Ventures. The total prize fund of the program, one of the largest startup initiatives in the Central Eurasia region, amounted to 1 million USD.

Within the incubation program, our resident startup “Lingozy”, representing Azerbaijan, received a prize of 10,000 USD.

It should be noted that startups from Azerbaijan received a total of 70,000 USD in grants. In the acceleration program, the startup “Recepta” was awarded 50,000 USD, while “SnackPack AZ” earned 10,000 USD within the incubation program. Additionally, in the “Best Startup Project” category, Azerbaijani startups “StarkidStories” and “Tryverse” represented the country in the final stage. Other Azerbaijani startups that qualified for participation in the incubation program included “Crable”, “himate.az” and “OLSUN”.

The “Digital Startup Awards” program strengthened cooperation among regional startup ecosystems and contributed to increasing international recognition of Azerbaijani startups, opening new opportunities for their development.

“ASAN Service” at the “Take Off Istanbul 2025” Startup Summit

On December 10–11, 2025, a delegation from the Innovation Center of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan participated in the international “Take Off Istanbul 2025” startup summit held in Istanbul, Turkey.

At the event, where “ASAN Service” is a partner, Azerbaijan was represented with its national stand. The stand showcased the Innovation Center, ASAN AI Hub, resident startups of the INNOLAND Incubation and Acceleration Center, as well as promising local startups representing the innovation ecosystem, including Enverson AI, Convitsa, Polygraf AI, Speakday, IOMETE, Qmeter, Tryverse, and StarKidStories.

During the two-day summit, the Azerbaijan stand was visited by Selcuk Bayraktar, Technical Director of Baykar, İrem Bayraktar Aksakal, Director of the Take Off Girişim Summit, as well as investors and other key participants of the innovation ecosystem. The startups’ activities were closely reviewed, and potential collaboration opportunities were discussed.

On the second day of the event, Vusal Rustamov, Director of the Innovation Center, spoke at a panel discussion on “Regional Startup Ecosystem: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Turkey” held within the framework of “Take Off Istanbul 2025.”

This year, the “Take Off Istanbul” summit brought together more than 500 startups from 40 countries, over 250 investors, 75 stakeholders, and 11 sponsoring organizations.

The summit is organized within the framework of TEKNOFEST, initiated by the T3 Foundation, the Ministry of Industry and Technology of the Republic of Turkey, and the Investment and Finance Office of the Presidential Administration. It functions as one of the region’s largest innovation and startup platforms, creating a favorable and barrier-free environment for innovation by bringing together entrepreneurs, mentors, venture capital representatives, and companies.

“ASAN Service” Hosts the “DIGIAGE BAKU 2025” Digital Game Camp

From December 5–7, 2025, the “DIGIAGE Baku 2025” digital game camp was organized as part of the collaboration between the Innovation Center of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and DIGIAGE.

The camp aimed to enable talented youth to create games and present their projects with the guidance of professional mentors. It also sought to help participants gain experience for entering the global market and foster new startup initiatives. Throughout the process, participants developed teamwork, project presentation, and marketing skills, strengthened their creative approaches, and prepared new game concepts. They also received valuable advice from industry experts on networking and career development.

In total, 238 applicants participated in the camp, including 28 teams and 134 individual applications. From these, 100 selected participants received two separate trainings over two weeks on data-driven game marketing and publishing processes.

During the three-day camp, participants who passed the selection stages took part individually or in teams. They learned about modern tools used in game development, different stages of game creation, and career opportunities in the sector. Representatives from well-known companies and game designers shared motivational experiences and insights.

Throughout the camp, Vüsal Rüstəmov, Director of the Innovation Center, and Erkam Tüzgen, CEO of Bilişim Vadisi, monitored team activities and met with participants.

At the conclusion, 19 teams presented their games to the jury. The teams “Untitle Game Studio,” “Neecro Projects,” and “Voyagers” ranked in the top three, while “Rital Interactive” received a special encouragement award from the jury. Investment meetings and mentorship support will continue for the winning teams, and all teams will continue to receive mentorship support from DIGIAGE.

Since 2023, over 500 applications have been received for the camps, with more than 300 participants qualifying to compete. More than 60 teams have participated in total, with many attracting investment and mentorship opportunities.

The camp has been implemented since 2023 within the framework of a cooperation protocol between the Innovation Center and Bilişim Vadisi Baku, aiming to develop technological skills, organize trainings, and support the implementation of innovative solutions in the country. Joint projects based on hackathon and bootcamp models are also a priority.

Sponsors: PASHA Holding
Partner: Code Academy
Media Partner: ASAN Radio & TV