CAREC Startup Generator: Empowering student entrepreneurs across the CAREC region

The COVID‑19 pandemic highlighted the importance of digital technologies in driving economic recovery across the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) region. The CAREC Digital Strategy 2030, released in February 2022, outlines how digital tools can strengthen policy design, capacity building, and regional cooperation, especially through youth engagement and partnerships with universities, public and private sector groups, and civil society. The strategy explicitly mentions engaging and investing in universities to pursue cross-cutting Sustainable Development Goals.

 ADB, through the technical assistance, “Supporting Startup Ecosystem in the CAREC Region to Mitigate Impact of COVID-19 and Support Economic Revival,” sought to assist the CAREC region in its economic recovery. The initiative aimed to promote digital transformation and strengthen startup ecosystems to generate innovation, jobs, and long‑term resilience. The technical assistance recognized the role startups could play in catalyzing local innovation and create jobs, which, in turn, could then help reinvigorate the economies of the CAREC countries and strengthen their post-pandemic resilience. 

The technical assistance identified hackathons as engines for encouraging innovation and collaboration, as well as promoting digital solutions to address unique challenges faced by the CAREC region. The hackathons specified in the technical assistance report eventually evolved into the CAREC University Startup Generator Challenge, open to full-time university students who are nationals of at least one of the CAREC countries. The underlying intent was to provide entrepreneurial-minded students with capacity building and support knowledge exchange across the region. The challenge had three legs, which ran from 2022 to 2024.

 Through the ADB Challenges platform, students could create a team of their own or join an existing team. The platform’s features include an integrated discussion wall and video conferencing tools to enable teams to communicate with each other virtually. The teams were assigned mentors and subject experts to help them develop their entrepreneurial skills and firm up their pitches. Each cycle culminated in a demo day, where finalists pitched to judges for cash incentives, networking opportunities, and regional visibility.

In 2022, teams were encouraged to think of how innovation and technology could be used to:

·       address the learning crisis;

·       reduce the number of deaths from heart disease;

·       improve access to finance for people and businesses;

·       reduce global warming; or

·       alleviate future food scarcity and hunger.

Out of 28 teams, the panel selected three teams:

·       1st place: Virtual Story by Miranda Namicheishvili and Vazha Kavlelashvili, who pitched a book-computer hybrid game to encourage users to read.

·       2nd place: ECOHA by Akzhan Kalimatov, Mikhail Polozov, Arina Kantayeva, and Miras Mels. Their solution aims to reduce street litter using a rewards system.

·       3rd place: MyMentor by Tomiris Kenenbayeva and Aiza Khan whose platform helps improve people’s skills in English via classes, including offline options.

In 2023, the three themes were on:

·       making online fitness more interesting for people from Central Asia;

·       improving remote workers’ efficiency using technology; and

·       improving the ridesharing process in Central Asia.

Four teams out of 168 participating groups were selected:

·       1st place: NIP by Huizhong Xue and Yanting Chen. The pair developed the concept of the KnowBus app, which provided clean and convenient ride-sharing options.

·       2nd place: GSL by Fangzhou Qian, Saruul Sukh-Erdene, and Yingqi Zhao. The team crafted the AI Office Butler idea to improve office productivity.

·       3rd place: Goddard Discovery by Unzila Khan, Muhammad Ali, and Nimra Naeem. The solution featured an artificial intelligence-powered research assistant to support literature reviews and online collaboration.

·       Special award: 4You, which was pitched by Arzu Garaeva, Nadir Huseynov, and Vugar Aliyev. It was a psychological and fitness app designed to promote the physical and mental wellness of children.

Entries in 2022 and 2023 were evaluated based on innovativeness, technology usage, market, presentation, and team coordination. Workshops and information sessions were also conducted to help participating teams prepare their pitches.  In 2024, the criteria for judging were revised to the following: innovativeness, sustainability and social impact, market potential, presentation quality, and team coordination. The areas of interest were on:

·       developing an innovative solution that could address a problem related to sustainable development or climate change in the community;

·       leveraging technology to help solve important problems in education, healthcare, businesses, or public services.

Out of 202 participating teams, four teams were selected:

·       1st place: Filtresha, pitched by Shama Aroob, Shaheer Hussain, Hadia Sabah, and Khadija Aslam, took first place. The concept involved using Grade 1 filter papers in qualitative analysis and scientific research.

·       2nd place: Genesis—Nurture Nest, which was pitched by Abeer Rizwan, Verda Ahmed, Fatima Khawar, and Mehwish Jabeen, was a children’s development app for parents.

·       3rd/4th place (tie): AgroConnect by Sardor Nurmuradov, Asad Fayzullayev, Azizbek Radjabov, and Muhlisa Akromova. The solution involved connecting farmers and buyers using market data and logistics solutions.

·       3rd/4th place (tie): Louq by Anika Ikram, Hassam Uddin, and Gouhar Bakhat. The solution aimed to transform textile waste into bricks for interior design.

 Filtresha and Genesis were given the opportunity to participate in AIxADB 2024, which was held alongside the Singapore FinTech Festival. During this activity, they were able to meet the High Commissioner of Pakistan to Singapore, further enriching their international exposure and deepening their understanding of innovations and advancements in artificial intelligence and financial technology.

 Various lessons were learned from this initiative.

Forming teams across universities and countries made the challenge more dynamic, enhanced the learning experience, and helped foster early connections among future innovators in the CAREC regions. However, implementing the three challenges demanded significant coordination from ADB and its partners, not only to ensure a good participant turnout. The coordination efforts included providing universities with a clear framework to empower them to organize their own innovation challenges.

 Having a streamlined platform, in this case ADB Challenges, made coordination across the region smoother. Beyond serving as a sign-up channel for students, it provided strong visibility into teams' progress and streamlined overall program management. Without access to such a digital platform, coordinating a regional initiative of this scale would have been extremely difficult for universities to manage manually.

 Attractive incentives, including monetary rewards, regional exposure, and networking opportunities, to motivate students to participate. Engaging industry speakers and mentors to provide mentorship to the participants also served as a good incentive, as they helped strengthen the students’ problem-solving skills and cultivate entrepreneurial mindsets. In addition, the presence of these established experts helped increase the credibility and attractiveness of the program.