During the first week of July mentors and startups from “INNOLAND“ visit the new “INNOLAND“ Sheki to discover new startups. Participants will be introduced to basic entrepreneurial concepts during 2 days of workshops, followed by a Hackathon to apply the newly gained knowledge and put it into practice. The winners of the Hackathon will be accepted to “INNOLAND“ Sheki 6-month Incubation Program including working space in “INNOLAND“ Sheki Coworking.

Selection Criteria

• over 18
• basic level of English

Agenda:

Day 1: General Workshops

• What is a startup?
• How to come up with a startup idea?
• Market Research: Why and How?
• Value Proposition

Day 2: General Workshops

• Business Model Canvas: Business Modelling, Business Planning
• Lean Methodology
• Pitching

Day 3: Start of Hackathon + Speakers

• Startups from “INNOLAND“ Baku will share their entrepreneurial experience
• Hackathon will be launched: Ideas put on voting, best 5-6 will be chosen for team forming with a goal to form a startup by the end of the Hackathon

Day 4: Teamwork + Mentoring

• Selected teams will work on their projects with the support of “INNOLAND“ mentors + “INNOLAND“ Baku startups.

Day 5: Teamwork, Final Presentations + Winner Announcement

• Half day: Continue teamwork
• Half day: Final Presentations in front of the jury to determine the top 3 teams

For registration: http://bit.ly/2MWFSQX

“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.

On January 10, 2019, Memorandum of Understanding was signed between INNOLAND Incubation and Acceleration Center, Next Step Innovation Center and SUP Startap Accelerator.

The memorandum covers joint cooperation on the promotion of Incubation and Acceleration projects, the provision of co-working services, and the conduct of educational programs for startups. It also includes an exchange of information and involvement in the organization of other mutual events to attract local and foreign investors.

The importance of the incubation service in establishing a sustainable startup ecosystem in our country, as well as the role of the acceleration service in shaping new national startup brands outside the country.