The IT community from Central Asia: "Kyrgyz Technovumen"

Tatiana Nechaeva, city — Bishkek, Head of QA and project manager at MedTech company Siroca, Director of the OBFF “Kyrgyz TechnoWoman”, LinkedIn, Instagram

About Me

I graduated from university with a degree in “Information Technology and Communications.” By profession, I am an IT specialist, working as Head of QA and project manager at a MedTech company.

This experience has shaped my approach to the foundation’s work: it is important to me that educational initiatives deliver measurable results, rather than just providing a motivational effect. Participants should gain practical knowledge, skills, and new opportunities for professional development.

About the Community

There is a common perception of foundations as organizations primarily engaged in events and reporting. However, “Kyrgyz TechnoWoman” is first and foremost a professional community.

The initial idea was to unite women working in technology, education, and business for mutual support and professional development.

The foundation was founded in late 2024 by four founders: Aiperi Kasymbekeva, Aidai Ismailova, Marina Duijenova, and Meirim Asanalieva. Currently, a community of specialists from various industries and age groups has formed around this initiative.

I joined the foundation in 2025 as General Manager, responsible for project management and organizing the forum, after which I assumed the position of Director from Aiperi Kasymbekeva. The rotation of roles within the team reflects the development of the community and the emergence of new leaders.

Special attention is paid to developing interest in technical and engineering fields among girls and young people. The technology sector is viewed broadly — from development and artificial intelligence to robotics, testing, product management, and 3D modeling.

“Kyrgyz TechnoWoman” is a platform where schoolgirls can meet leaders of large IT structures, students can find mentors from the industry, and female entrepreneurs can establish partnerships to develop their projects.

The main goal of the organization is to create opportunities for women and young people through education, technology, STEM fields, entrepreneurship, and the development of a professional community.

During its operation, more than 500 women have gone through the foundation’s programs. More than 300 participants received international certifications in cybersecurity, and over 100 female entrepreneurs strengthened their digital and STEM competencies.

At the same time, the key result is considered not to be quantitative indicators, but real changes in the professional trajectories of participants: launching projects, employment, transitioning into teaching, and developing new career directions. In 2026, special attention is paid to the development of the STEM direction. In response to growing demand from schoolchildren, students, and teachers, two educational programs in this field have already been implemented.

Community Members

Community members are primarily people who want to contribute, implement projects, share experience, and help others develop. At the same time, they can be very different.

In one project, a bank director, an IT company head, a university lecturer, a student, a schoolgirl, a marketer, a business analyst, and others may work side by side. For example, our team includes Asseta Krasnozhanova — the Director of the Operational Direction of FINCA Bank Kyrgyzstan and a member of the foundation’s board of directors. She helps participants as a mentor and shares her experience in managing large teams and projects.

Foundation co-founder Aidai Ismailova currently heads the Technopark — the largest IT Hub in Kyrgyzstan. For our participants, this is an opportunity to communicate directly with someone who works daily on developing the country’s technological ecosystem.

Another important person in our team is Aiperi Kasymbekeva, co-founder of the foundation. Today, she is engaged in Public Relations and partnership development. Aiperi actively promotes women’s initiatives in technology on international platforms, represents Kyrgyzstan at forums, and helps build cooperation with organizations and communities from other countries.

One of the main drivers of the STEM direction is Marina Duijenova — a lecturer at KG TU. Thanks to her energy and professional expertise, our STEM programs were created.

There are also young specialists. For example, Nuriza Zununova — a student at the Polytechnic University, a robotics and 3D printing lecturer. Currently, she is preparing for the World Underwater Robotics Championship, where she and her team are developing a robot to clean water bodies of debris at depths of up to 10 meters.

And these are just a few examples. In reality, our community includes entrepreneurs, marketers, teachers, IT specialists, students, and schoolchildren.

Therefore, anyone can join us. For us, age and position are less important than the desire to develop, learn, and do something useful together. Often, people come to us as event participants, and after some time become volunteers, experts, partners, project managers, or launch their own initiatives within the community.

Events for Community Members

We strive to create not just events, but platforms where new acquaintances, ideas, and projects are born. We hold educational programs on STEM, digital skills, and cybersecurity, meetings with experts, panel discussions, and forums. For example, we regularly hold meetings in the format of IT Tea. These are informal meetings with experts from Kyrgyzstan and other countries. Over this time, more than 10 such events have already taken place.

One of the largest events was the international forum “Digital Skills for All: NEW FACES.” We managed to bring together representatives of six Central Asian countries, international organizations, business, and the public sector.

We strive to make events as accessible as possible. Therefore, most programs, meetings, and forums for participants are free. It is important to us that a person comes to us not because they can afford an expensive ticket, but because they want to learn, develop, and be part of the community.

How the Community Helps with Development

The most valuable thing our community offers is people and opportunities that arise from these acquaintances. Very often, a person comes to one event and then becomes part of the team, an expert, or the author of their own project.

For example, Aliya Saubanova — creative director of the international startup Sprouty — joined us. Initially, we invited her as an expert during the UN Week of Entrepreneurship. More than 100 women from 13 countries participated in the event. Aliya’s speech received a great response from the audience. After that, she joined our community and later implemented her own initiative — a panel session for marketers and business owners, where relevant issues of business development, marketing, and legal aspects of company operations were discussed together with experts.

There are other examples as well.

Inabat Latipova and Nagima Nurbek — founders of the marketing agency “Mamile” — held meetings in the format of IT Tea for our community participants. They shared their experience in building a personal brand, talked about business promotion, and showed how important marketing is in the modern world.

I really like that in our community, people not only gain knowledge but also begin to share their expertise with others. Essentially, we are creating an environment where you can find a mentor, partner, kindred spirit, or team to implement your own idea. This is exactly why many stay with us for a long time — because they find not just an event or a course, but a community where they can grow together with others.

Successful Projects

At the beginning of the year, we implemented a program on computer modeling and 3D printing for women. More than 500 applications were received from all over Kyrgyzstan. We were able to accept only 50 participants. One of the participants was Kanykei Zakonbekovna Alymkulova, Director of School No. 20 named after Heydar Aliyev. After completing the program, she said, “Why not create such a project for our schoolgirls?” Thus, a new STEM program was created based on the school.

As a result, 35 people underwent training — school teachers and students in grades 8-11. The girls developed their own projects and presented them at the STEM festival Future Makers. For me, this is the best example of how one participant can create opportunities for dozens of other people.

Another major project was the international forum “Digital Skills for All: NEW FACES,” which resulted in the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between the Ministry of Digital Development of the Kyrgyz Republic and “Kyrgyz TechnoWoman.”

International cooperation is also important to us. We actively collaborate and exchange experience with the TechnoWomen Kazakhstan community and partners from other Central Asian countries.

Each year, one of the countries hosts the regional TechnoWomen forum. In 2025, Kyrgyzstan was the host, and this year the forum took place in Tajikistan.

In September 2025, we were invited to the TechnoWomen forum in Kazakhstan, where representatives of different Central Asian countries shared their experience in implementing projects and looked for new points of cooperation.

Another story that inspires me greatly is related to Cholpon Shabdyraeva. She went through our cybersecurity program and did not stop at the knowledge gained. To date, Cholpon continues to actively teach women and young people in the regions of Kyrgyzstan. Her goal is to help people, especially in rural areas, confidently enter the world of digital technologies and the safe internet. For many women, this becomes their first acquaintance with issues of digital security, data protection, and modern online tools.

I believe that such stories best show the results of our work. When a person comes to learn for themselves, and then begins to pass on knowledge and help others.

Plans

We want to continue developing the STEM direction and scale successful projects to other schools and educational institutions.

We plan to launch new educational programs for girls and women, strengthen international cooperation, and attract new experts to the community.

But most importantly, we want to remain an open platform for new people.

If you want to join the community, become a volunteer, project partner, expert, mentor, or propose your own project, we will be glad to meet you.

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