How did the venture forum in Almaty, CEVF 2024, go?

MOST Holding and Investbanq held the annual Central Eurasian Venture Forum on June 7. The main theme of the forum, as suggested by its name, was drawn from the 2023 best-selling book "How to Ride a Unicorn?" It reflects the current risks and opportunities for the entire region in the fight for technological leadership and international regulation of artificial intelligence and other breakthrough innovations.

The forum brought together more than 1,500 participants in Almaty. According to the organizers, half of them were guests from other countries, demonstrating investors' interest in Central Asia and Kazakhstan.

Speakers at the CEVF 2024 included Arsen Tomsky, founder of the unicorn company InDrive; Arkady Morейnis, founder of Fastfounder, entrepreneur, and investor; Milan Reinartz, founder of the largest angel syndicate in Singapore; Kairat Akhmetov, co-founder of the Sergek Group of IT companies; Asel Mashanova, founder of the Lulu Group, Metabody, and Metafarm companies; Roman Lavrentiev, operating director of the first unicorn in Uzbekistan, UZUM; and other active investors from around the world.

In 2024, the forum resulted in agreements worth millions of dollars among participants, confirming its role as an important catalyst for venture capital in the region.

Additionally, three startups received checks totaling $20,000 in the Startup Battle from forum partner Visa. The first-place winner, receiving a check for $10,000 and a ticket to the international startup competition World Startup Cup in America, was the Yaya startup. The second-place winner, receiving a check for $7,000, was the Predictory startup. Both startups also received automatic entry into the Start Venture program by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The third-place team, WeGlobal AI, won $3,000. Another forum partner, Yandex Cloud, selected the FinFlow startup to receive cloud storage services worth nine million tenge.

Also presented at the forum was a study on "Assessment of ESG Factors and Their Impact on Venture Investments and the Market in Various Industries of Kazakhstan." According to the report, companies actively implementing ESG principles gain advantages in attracting venture investments and enhancing competitiveness. More details are available on the website mostfund.vc.