48 women in IT who inspired us in 2025

Azerbaijan

Gunay Imanzade
Founder of the startup Metatesk, participant in the European Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the "Social Impact" category. Winner of the IDDA Awards 2022 and finalist in 2023, she represented Azerbaijan at the WOW Summit in Hong Kong as part of the IDDA Roadshow. Participant in the Silicon Valley mentorship program. Laureate of the Presidential Award for Youth in Innovation. 

Shabnam Mammadova
Founder and head of the SmartNation platform, an expert in innovation, digital development, and human capital. Member of the COP29 Organizing Committee, participant in international collaborations on climate, sustainable development, and smart technologies. Partner of Women in Tech Azerbaijan, actively supporting initiatives to develop female leadership and expand women's participation in the technology sector.

Konyul Guliyeva
Founder and CEO of the Safavy.org platform — one of the first local video educational platforms in Azerbaijan. Co-author of the Her IT Journey project, aimed at developing digital skills for women in ICT, including UI/UX, data analytics, and digital marketing.

Leila Baghirzade
Investment banker with over 15 years of experience, co-founder of the IB Catalyst initiative. Expert in investments, strategy, and startup ecosystem development. Winner of the Women in Tech CCA Awards 2025 in the Web2 category.

Alya Abbaszada
Managing Director of SABAH.angels, angel investor, and startup consultant. Regional Director of Startup World Cup Azerbaijan. Official partner of Women in Tech Azerbaijan, winner of the Founders Academy, expert in investment strategy and startup scaling.

Leila Aliyeva
Professional leader with over 10 years of experience in the fintech and digital payments sector. Leads the transformation of acquiring products at Kapital Bank. Previously worked at the Central Bank of Azerbaijan. Winner of the Women in Tech CCA Awards 2025 in the Most Disruptive Award category.

Aysel Gulmammadova
Founder of Baku Design Academy, Azerbaijan's leading educational center in design, marketing, and data. Under her leadership, the academy implements innovative approaches and prepares specialists for the creative and digital sectors. In 2025, at her initiative, Azerbaijan participated in the Adobe World Championship for the first time, where 50 participants received international certificates. In 2021, she was named "Entrepreneur of the Year" by the Azerbaijan Women Award.

Lyaman Aliyeva
Lyaman Aliyeva is an artificial intelligence researcher, startup founder, and Google Technology Ambassador. Co-founder and leader of Artificial Intelligence HUB — the first and one of the largest AI communities in Azerbaijan. Her projects have been presented in more than 10 countries around the world, and in 2025, she received the Presidential Youth Award for her contribution to innovation and the development of Azerbaijan's technological ecosystem.

Georgia

Mariam Gagaua
Entrepreneur and PropTech expert, CEO and co-founder of DwellUP — a platform for digital management of residential complexes. Develops product teams, consults on strategy and UX, speaks at conferences, and supports women in IT.

Nato Chakvetadze
Professional in entrepreneurship, consulting, and project management. Leads educational programs in entrepreneurship and ecosystem development, oversees startup accelerators and international partnerships. Actively speaks at conferences, mentors future founders, and develops the Startup Info community, which unites over 21,000 participants.

Natia Sirbiladze
General Director of Exactpro Systems Georgia, co-founder of GeoSTQB, and board member of the ICT Association. Expert in IT project management, digital products, and business development.

Iro Tsagareishvili
Director of Axel, Georgian Business Angel Network, specialist in startup financing and ecosystem development. Co-founder of Fundraiser.ge, lecturer, and mentor. In 2025, she was included in Forbes 30 Under 30 Georgia.

Maria Voskanyan
General Director of StatusNeo in Georgia, an international company specializing in digital engineering and AI. She develops the Georgian hub and leads projects in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Americas, and the Asia-Pacific region, specializing in digital transformation, AI products, and customer experience. As Director of Women in Tech® Georgia, Maria also supports the development of women in the technology community.

Kazakhstan 

These women did not just create opportunities, promote digital transformation, and inspire schoolgirls, students, and young professionals. They did this entirely on a volunteer basis, investing their time, knowledge, energy, and hearts.

Asem Bolatzhan
Asem Bolatzhan laid the foundation for the Women in Tech Kazakhstan movement, which today unites hundreds of girls across the country.

Laura Salamat
Forms an educational ecosystem for students and young professionals, developing programs that open paths to digital professions.

Madina Dusmagambetova
Founder of the AI for Her program, promoting the development of female potential in the AI field.

Alima Umutebek
Organizes local and international events to support women in IT and create new professional opportunities.

Nazgul Taimova
Develops IT directions for girls in the regions, ensuring access to technology, education, and career growth.

Rinata Ilyubayeva
Leads one of the most active branches of Women in Tech Kazakhstan in the capital, uniting over a thousand participants.

Tanya Plotnikova
Created a direction for female entrepreneurs in IT, uniting thousands of participants, including founders, media representatives, and innovation hub leaders.

Aigerim Kilybaeva
Develops the FinTech direction for girls, creating programs, industry partnerships, and entry opportunities into the fintech sector.

Inziya Gilmundinova
Inziya conducts training across Kazakhstan for thousands of girls, introducing them to AI tools and helping them unlock their potential, gain confidence, and take a step into a new professional direction.

Madina Iskakova
Madina Iskakova provides constant volunteer support to girls in IT, helping to create conditions where girls receive real assistance, attention, and opportunities for development.

Gulzat Beknazarova
Forms a culture of support within Women in Tech Kazakhstan, builds communications, and creates a space where every participant feels heard and confident.

Asem Taranova
Mentor for young girls, supports professional development, helps determine career paths, and inspires confident forward movement.

Kyrgyzstan

Asel Sartbaeva
An internationally recognized scientist and entrepreneur who developed a biostabilization technology for storing vaccines without refrigeration equipment. Her startup demonstrates how scientific developments from Kyrgyzstan can have a global impact.

Aynura Sagyn
Transforms the approach to waste management by creating digital solutions for sustainable cities and engaging local communities in the environmental agenda.

Aisuluu Zhamangulova
Implements artificial intelligence in education, helping teachers personalize learning and improve the quality of education in the regions.

Zhyrgal Botobaeva
Leads Technovation Girls KG, developing an ecosystem for girls in STEM, opening access to technology, mentorship, and international opportunities from an early age.

Elena Chigibaeva
Represents Kyrgyzstan in the field of blockchain technologies and Web3, promoting the digital economy and financial literacy among women.

Nargiza Zhakypova
Founder of IT-Run, a platform for supporting IT education and developing professional skills in the digital sphere.

Dinara Ruslan
Leads Codify Academy, an educational center for programming and modern digital technologies for young specialists. Systematically develops digital skills in children and adults, forming the personnel potential for the country's technological future.

Gulnaza Khalmanbetova
Founder of Mama Space, a platform for supporting and educating women, combining educational programs and a community for mothers and female entrepreneurs.


Uzbekistan

All girls from Uzbekistan in this review are finalists of the Women in Tech CCA Awards.

Zulfiya Usmonova
Winner of the Aspiring Teen Award. Engaged in artificial intelligence research and pursuing a master's degree at the Technical University of Munich.

Kamila Daminova
Kamila Daminova founded HEAL LLC — a company at the forefront of integrating AI into healthcare, with a special focus on maternal health. At HEAL, they develop a digital product for predicting risks during pregnancy, addressing important healthcare issues in Uzbekistan. The company not only improves the quality of medical care but also trains doctors by implementing AI-based tools.

Nigora Dadabaeva
Nigora Dadabaeva is a pioneer in science, medicine, and technology. Her career includes research on pancreatic tumors and the development of AI for early disease diagnosis. She founded an educational company in Uzbekistan to promote STEM education, as well as MedTech AI SOLUTIONS, which works on innovations in early disease detection, including liver cirrhosis and pancreatic cancer, and studies ultraviolet disinfection methods.

Saida Beknazarova
Winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award for her many years of contribution to the development of IT education. Professor and IT specialist at Tashkent University of Information Technologies.

Aziza Nematova
Winner in the Aspiring Teen Award category, actively promoting technological education among the youth of Uzbekistan. As an intern at the Cyber Security Club, she is preparing to become a cybersecurity officer and is studying quantum computing in cybersecurity through the Girls in Research program. Aziza is a finalist of TechGirls 2024, working on a project for a space robot to clean orbit, and leads the local Navoi Tech Teens initiative, conducting programming classes for schoolchildren.

Nargis Dustmatova
Winner in the Lifetime Achievement Award category, Member of the Executive Board of PAYNET JSC. Nargis Dustmatova, Chairperson of the FinTech Association of Uzbekistan and Head of Development, actively promotes FinTech education and innovation in the country. She participates in the development of special support programs for female entrepreneurs and small businesses in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Nargis collaborates with international partners, implementing projects to stimulate economic growth, introduce innovations, and increase financial accessibility for socially vulnerable groups. She monitors FinTech market trends and actively interacts with key industry players, inspiring a new generation of entrepreneurs and promoting gender equality in business.

Ekaterina Sayapina
Winner in the Best Ally Award category. Heads the Solutions Support Department at ZTE Investment Uzbekistan, actively contributing to the development of technological initiatives and the professional community.

Tajikistan

Nilufar Murodova
Local leader of the NASA Space Apps Challenge program in Tajikistan and co-founder of iCode Bootcamp — an educational bootcamp for developing programming skills among girls.

Zaytuna Saidullaeva
Actively promotes the role of women in IT, inspiring and supporting young professionals on their path to professional development in technology.

Nadzima Noefova
Co-founder of the epsilon3.ai startup in the field of artificial intelligence. The company collaborates with the American firm Perplexity AI, contributing to the development of sovereign AI in Tajikistan.

Aziza Kosimova
Co-founder and business analyst of the Predictory startup, applying AI for big data analysis and forecasting.

Anzurat Kasimova
Anzurat teaches information technology at UCA, training students in modern digital skills.

Parvina Sultonmamatova
Product Manager in the AI/ML field at zypl, developing innovative solutions based on machine learning.

Rukhmina Fakirova
16-year-old developer of the Dono platform, which helps young people find educational opportunities.

Orzu Ganieva
Gender expert and project coordinator, presented the "Farmer's Journal" application, supporting female farmers with digital technologies.