“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.

In "INNOLAND" Incubation and Acceleration Center the seed round investment made into the "Nextsale" and "Whelp" startups, participants of the winter acceleration program of the SUP "Startap Accelerator.

The investment in these startups was implemented jointly by the "Azfinans" Investment Company, the "Next Step" Innovation Center and Khazar Ventures.

In partnership with the INNOLAND Incubation and Acceleration Center, the “Innovation and Creativity Forum” was held at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Ganja.

The forum was jointly organized by the 2nd Ganja Regional ASAN Service Center, the Ganja-Dashkasan Regional Office of the Youth Development and Career Center, the Heydar Aliyev Center of Ganja, and the Ganja STEAM Center. Its aim was to support the development of innovative thinking and technological knowledge among young people.

Within the framework of the forum, with the participation of about 200 young people, panel discussions were held on the topics: “Startup Ecosystem – Global and Local Approaches,” “Artificial Intelligence: A New Form of Thinking,” and “Robots on Stage – The Union of Creativity and Technology.”

The discussions featured contributions from the Director of the INNOLAND Incubation and Acceleration Center, Nijat Amiraslanov, and the Deputy Head of the Project Management Department, Ziniddin Babayev, who shared their knowledge and experience with the participants.

The event concluded with official speeches and an award ceremony.