The investment fund Central Asia Capital and the Ministry of Education and Science of Kyrgyzstan have signed an agreement launching the Central Asia Startup program, the first large-scale project to develop entrepreneurship and technology startups in Kyrgyzstan.
According to Central Asia Capital, the program aims to support aspiring entrepreneurs, develop an innovation ecosystem, and foster a sustainable model of interaction between business and government.
The program is scheduled to launch in early 2026. Participants will receive financial subsidies, undergo a six-month acceleration program, and access a guaranteed sales market through local industrial enterprises.
The agreement was signed by Anton Sobin, founder of Central Asia Capital, and Kyrgyz Minister of Education and Science Baktiyar Orozov.
“The unique feature of many startups is that their ideas may be grandiose, but they are not always relevant here and now,” said Sobin, adding that the program is based on the real needs of the Kyrgyz economy and the requests of enterprises.
The program will include a national startup competition, Central Asia Startup, open to entrepreneurs and students from across the country. The best teams will undergo acceleration at the Ministry of Education’s innovation center and at Central Asia Capital. After that, the best startups will have an opportunity to localize their own production at the new Central Asia Hub industrial park in Tokmok.
In October, Central Asia Capital and the Ministry of Digital Development and Innovative Technologies of Kyrgyzstan signed a memorandum aimed at establishing the country’s first innovative technology hub, Central Asia Hub, a platform for the development of high technology and localization of production.
The new hub will span 7 hectares in Tokmok, a city 60 km east of Bishkek. It will host startups, manufacturing facilities, and research laboratories, uniting public and private initiatives into a single ecosystem.
The first major project at the hub will be a $30 million plant for the production of the national car, Muras, supported by Russian carmaker AvtoVAZ. A semi-knocked-down assembly plant with a capacity of up to 1,500 cars per year is planned to begin operations in 2026. Within the next 10 years, the plant will create up to 1,500 jobs and increase its production capacity to 7,000 cars per year.
