Who is building Azerbaijan's IT community: 7 founders of local communities

Rahim Bayramli

Executive Director of SABAH.HUB — an innovation center in Baku that supports the creation and development of startups across various industries. Under his leadership, SABAH.HUB launched its own venture fund, SABAH.fund, with a volume of $25 million, focused on investing in companies from the South Caucasus, Central Asia, Turkey, and MENA.

Malik Mammadli

Malik Mammadli is the co-founder of GDG Baku, a local community of Google Developer Groups in Baku. The community was established in 2019 to create a platform for communication and knowledge exchange among developers and IT professionals. Today, GDG Baku regularly hosts major tech events, including DevFest, Google I/O Extended, and Women Techmakers, bringing together developers, students, and IT enthusiasts in the city.

Leila Seyidzade

Leila Seyidzade is the director and ambassador of Women in Tech Azerbaijan — a local community of the international Women in Tech movement headquartered in Paris. The community unites women in the technology industry in Azerbaijan and organizes networking, mentoring programs, and educational initiatives to advance careers in IT.

Fehruz Jabrayilov

Founder of the Azerbaijan Startup Community — a community of startups, investors, and experts in the country's tech ecosystem. In its first year, the community gathered around 80 startups and more than 10 partners, hosted around 10 meetups and a Demo Day with the participation of over 500 ecosystem representatives.

Shabnam Taghili

Lead Product Designer at PRODATA and head of the Friends of Figma community in Baku, Azerbaijan. Under her leadership, the community actively develops the local industry by bringing together UX/UI designers and Figma users to share experiences. The community regularly hosts specialized educational workshops, lectures, and networking meetings.

Ilgar Alirzayev

Co-founder and COO of Gamepons — an educational and acceleration hub for game designers, game artists, and game developers, as well as chairman of the Azerbaijan chapter of IGDA — International Game Developers Association. The chapter works together with the Innovation and Digital Development Agency and the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan, developing the game developer community, mentoring programs, and connections with the international industry.

Yana Krimpe

Yana Krimpe is the founder and CEO of Femmes Digitales — a community that unites women in the technology sector in Azerbaijan. The community creates opportunities for professional development, networking, and knowledge exchange, hosts educational events, and helps participants find new connections and opportunities in IT. Additionally, Yana Krimpe is an expert in digital identity and electronic signatures, as well as the chairperson of the Estonian-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce.