“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.

The delegation of Startup Estonia and the “Garage 48” Acceleration Center, established upon the initiative of the Estonian government, got acquainted with the “INNOLAND” Incubation and Acceleration Center of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Wide information on operating Co-working, Incubation, Acceleration and IT Training, as well as the startups residing within the center, was delivered to the guests.

Then, the Memorandum of Collaboration was signed between parties.

The Memorandum of Cooperation involves the establishment of an entrepreneurial support ecosystem as well as the creation and development of investor opportunities in the relevant regions for local technology startups. Furthermore, it covers the adoption of mutually agreed measures such as an effective exchange of incubation and acceleration programs and exchange of information on the attraction of local and foreign investors and etc.

According to the agreement reached within the memorandum signed with the "Startup Estonia" Center, the initial assessment of the regional applications sent to the “Startup Estonian Visa” program will be implemented in Azerbaijan. Startups applied to the relevant program from the regional countries such as Russia, Georgia, Mongolia, Iran, and Afghanistan will be initially assessed by the “INNOLAND” Incubation and Acceleration Center. Only startups that have successfully completed the initial stage will be able to move to the next stage of the program. This will play a significant role in attracting regional start-ups and projects to our country and increasing the success potential of the startup ecosystem.

The “Startup Estonian Visa” Program was established in 2017 on the joint initiative of the Estonian Startup Committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Estonia. The main goal of the program is to facilitate the entry of successful startups and projects of non-EU countries to Estonia. Thus, successful startups sent their applications to the “Startup Estonian Visa” Program are provided with a special code through which the applicants and their team members may obtain a permit to live up to 5 years in Estonia.

Final stage of the “45 Minutes Startup” Olympiad held at “INNOLAND”

The final stage of the “45 Minutes Startup” Olympiad, organized jointly by the “INNOLAND” Incubation and Acceleration Center and “Taskool” for 8th–11th grade students, has been successfully held.
The final took place within the framework of the “Startup School” program by “Taskool,” a resident of “INNOLAND.” In 2025, out of 147 applications submitted to the “Startup School” program, 110 participants started the training, and 58 successfully completed it, forming 13 teams across 7 main fields.
The program, aimed at developing entrepreneurship skills and financial literacy at a global level, engaged participants in working on real business ideas and presenting their startup projects. With the support of experienced mentors, the projects covered areas such as Artificial Intelligence, FinTech, GreenTech, HealthTech, AgriTech, Gaming, and E-commerce.
In the final stage, 13 teams captured the jury’s attention with their innovative ideas, creative approaches, and presentation skills. As a result, the startup projects of the “Speacdeaf,” “Tutor AI,” and “Mindmark” teams were highly evaluated and declared winners. All participants who successfully completed the program received certificates.
The “Startup School” program builds a strong foundation for Azerbaijan’s future startup leaders and promotes innovation culture across the country.