Tech Garden. What opportunities does the innovation fund provide to startups

Daniya Kaerbayeva, Deputy Director of the Department of Corporate Innovations and Business Programs at Tech Garden, @techgarden  

About Me

I began my career at Skolkovo, where I launched the first startup school for projects at all stages of development. Then I returned to Kazakhstan, working at Astana Hub, where I served as the Office Manager for Business Programs and held the Export Accelerator Scalerator. After participating in the organization of Digital Almaty 2023, I joined the Tech Garden team. Currently, I am engaged in developing the ecosystem of industrial startups in Industry 4.0 as the Deputy Director for Corporate Innovations and Business Programs.

I received my education in Moscow at the National Research University Higher School of Economics and started working, and continue to work, as a Project Manager. It so happened that since my student days, I have participated in various projects such as Danone, Radisson Hotel, Hilton, and others. However, these were student projects. This sparked my interest in developing startups and creating programs to support them.

About Tech Garden 

Historically, the Autonomous Cluster Fund "Park of Innovative Technologies," formerly known as Tech Garden, was established in 2015. Today, we position ourselves as a digital IT hub that uses its tools to develop the ecosystem in order to support industrial enterprises of the Republic of Kazakhstan. These are enterprises engaged in the extraction of coal, oil, gold, and many other minerals. Our mission is to support industrial enterprises and startups by developing innovative projects. We strive to create an ecosystem in which every company develops to 100%.

Currently, we have more than 100 partner enterprises. We have attracted about 43 billion tenge from subsoil users. We have funded 221 projects of Kazakhstani companies for implementing their solutions at industrial enterprises. Our portfolio includes about 250 innovative companies providing technological solutions, and their number is approaching 300. We have also launched the first industrial acceleration program for startups in Industry 4.0.

We are considered one of the operators known as the "1% for R&D." More than 117-120 subsoil users cooperate with us, such as KAZPETROL GROUP, "TURGAY-PETROLEUM," "Polymetall," "Embamunaygaz," and "Caspian Oil." In addition, we implemented Digital Smart Oil Field at Kazpetrol.

What opportunities does the fund provide to young startups and IT companies 

We launched Acceleration 4.0 last year and successfully conducted it. This is the first industrial accelerator in Kazakhstan for industrial startups in Industry 4.0. The results were impressive: we managed to agree on 22 deals between subsoil users and startups totaling 2 billion tenge. Four contracts have already been signed, two of them in the mining and metallurgical complex sector and two in the oil and gas sector. Among the participants were large companies such as Dereknet, OST Engineering, Alaqan, and Nordal.

Regarding Acceleration 4.0, this year we decided to divide it into two directions: Oil and Gas and Mining. In June, we will announce the Oil and Gas acceleration, which will be fully focused on the oil and gas sector. All solutions will be purely oriented towards the needs of the oil and gas industry. 

In addition, we offer programs for subsoil users called "vouchers for subsoil users," where we provide a solution for subsoil users from our portfolio for piloting. 

We are launching an educational program for subsoil users. 

We continue the Industry 4.0 Start Up Battle with a prize fund of $200,000. We also have Demo Day — an initiative for selecting solutions for enterprises based on their needs and tasks. We help industrial startups overcome barriers and bring their ideas to enterprises. 

Another opportunity for startups is industrial tours. If you want to better understand the production processes of an enterprise, we organize trips to Kazakhstani enterprises. This is an overview trip for startups with the opportunity to present their ideas to enterprise representatives. 

Where to find information about Tech Garden programs 

We have an Instagram page where we publish all our news. There is also a Telegram channel where you can join our community. There you can learn about our events and communicate with other participants. We are also present on TikTok and LinkedIn. These platforms are used for regular updates, announcements, and information about our events.

What are the requirements for program participants 

We work with innovative companies and industrial startups that create solutions in Industry 4.0. Our priorities include automation, industrial and cybersecurity, smart fields, ecology, and artificial intelligence. We also support domestic projects with fully Kazakhstani content. This is not just a trend, but a necessity for the development of the ecosystem and the industry as a whole.

In addition, the company's background is important. Each subsoil user asks about the effects of the solution, what this solution gives to the enterprise. It is also important to know where similar solutions have already been implemented. This builds trust and demonstrates successful experience. 

We also pay attention to the team composition. Depending on the project stage, there is an opportunity to immediately implement it with subsoil users. The project must pass through our ecosystem for preparation and be a resident of our innovation cluster. We strive to help even projects at the initial development stage, preparing them for implementation. Our main KPI is increasing the number of successful implementations and improving the digital maturity of enterprises.

How is the digitalization of the industrial industry developing in Kazakhstan

Our industry is generally quite digitalized, but the implementation of AI causes certain difficulties. We must evaluate whether AI is really needed at various enterprises and in production processes. Although we have successful projects abroad and in large companies, it is important to understand that not every solution is suitable for every enterprise. Each enterprise has its own programs and processes that need to be taken into account when choosing technologies.

Automation, industrial safety, and the importance of ecology are considered global trends. Smartfield and Digital Twin are also in demand, but their implementation depends on the enterprise's infrastructure. We select individual solutions for each enterprise, taking into account its unique needs. Our focus is on the mining industry, although each enterprise has its own features in the development of digital maturity.

We have many domestic solutions that easily replace foreign ones, winning in price, quality, and content. 

About the fund's plans and upcoming events

We have many ambitious plans this year. Soon, the AMM Demo Day will take place, where we will showcase the 16 best projects in the non-ferrous metallurgy sector, including solutions for AI, industrial safety, eco-monitoring, and production automation. There will be many guests, including subsoil users and mature innovative companies with many implemented projects. In addition, in June we plan to announce our Oil and Gas accelerator, and we are waiting for applications from founders and CEOs of industrial startups suitable for this industry.

In addition, we are negotiating cooperation with EPAM Kazakhstan to develop a useful tool for startups.

We are open to ideas and projects in Industry 4.0. If you have an idea or project, write to us, we will help with consultation, find common ground, and develop Kazakhstan's industry together.