New opportunities for women founders in January 2026

The beginning of the year is a traditional time for setting new goals, rethinking career plans, and finding growth opportunities. January 2026 opens up several opportunities for women in IT, technology, and entrepreneurship in Central Asia. This selection features key events and projects of the month that will help develop skills, strengthen expertise, and take the next step in your career.

Girls Go FIRST
An offline forum combining Startup Battle, a scientific projects competition, motivational speeches, and panel discussions with speakers from STEM, IT, and engineering fields. Teams of two to six people, led by a female project leader, are invited to participate. The prize pool is 1,000,000 tenge, along with prizes for the top 5 teams from Investly Hub.

Application deadline: January 15 at 23:59

When: January 17
Where: Almaty, Tamos Education / Astana, Bibigul Tulegenova Creative School

Yulduz Tech Awards — 2025
A national competition in Uzbekistan organized by the Ministry of Digital Technologies and the GAP Women’s IT Club, aimed at supporting and recognizing women in the IT sector. The competition highlights innovative ideas, professional achievements, and participants' contributions to technological development, encouraging startups, AI projects, digital transformation, IT education, and social impact initiatives. Winners are awarded in 15 categories.

Application deadline: January 20

TourX Acceleration Program
A program focused on creating and scaling sustainable tourism products and services that meet real market needs. Tour operators, guesthouse owners, CBT initiatives, and tourism startups and projects at the idea, launch, or early growth stages from all regions of Tajikistan are invited to participate. Participants will receive support in product development and packaging, financial modeling and pricing, access to partners and sales channels, service and process improvement, as well as preparation for scaling, investments, and grants.

Application deadline: January 25

Intensive for Women Entrepreneurs
A two-day intensive on developing digital skills, offering practical knowledge, mastering sales on Wildberries with marketplace experts, learning about AI and process automation, and exploring modern digital marketing tools, while expanding professional networks. Upon completion, participants will receive certificates. Participation is available upon prior registration.

When: January 22-23 at 09:30
Where: Dushanbe, “Technohub Dushanbe”

She Vibecodes
A three-day hackathon where girls from Kyrgyzstan can create their own tech startup without programming skills, using vibe coding and modern AI tools. Participants will learn to develop business models, create products, and think like product leaders, with support from professional mentors. Girls of any age can participate with or without a team, and applications are accepted from across the country.

Application deadline: January 30

When: February 6-8
Where: Bishkek

CyberQiz
A free online educational platform with practical classes in creative and interdisciplinary fields, created by female experts from Central Asia with local context in mind. Education is available in Uzbek, Russian, Karakalpak, Tajik, and Uzbek Sign Languages, supplemented by an online library and a map providing access to devices and resources, making education as accessible as possible.

Code First Girls
A global organization providing free education and career opportunities for women. CFG offers courses from beginner to advanced levels, career transition programs, and accelerated job preparation, helping women build successful careers in technology worldwide.