As a reminder, in 2022, with the support of the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan, Astana Hub became the first partner of the Google for Startups program in Central Asia. The first batch of the joint Silkway Accelerator program started in July, and the second batch , September last year. 

"Thanks to the cooperation with Google for Startups, the top 25 startups from Central Asia, Azerbaijan, and Mongolia entered the global market, showing rapid growth during the accelerator. The average monthly revenue of all companies more than doubled. The results of the two batches speak volumes about the program's effectiveness, so our partnership with Google for Startups is a logical continuation. We've already started collecting applications for the third batch, and this year's news is that Google for Startups has expanded the program's coverage region by adding Georgia - now startups from this country can also participate in our accelerator," said Magzhan Madiev, CEO of the Astana Hub.

It is worth mentioning that 567 applications from tech initiatives were submitted for participation in the program last year. 30 of them made it through the selection process, and throughout the program, 25 observed an increase in sales and entered new markets.

For example, the Citix information and navigation system entered the markets of Turkey and the UAE. The founders of the startup zypl.ai expanded sales in two new markets and increased their valuation from $6 million to $10 million. The CTOgram project has reached 230,000 active car owners and more than 2,000 repair shops. Fibo.cloud increased its monthly revenue 22 times, the educational platform Metatesk - from $4k to $18k, and sales of the Planet9 neobank increased from 0 to $70k. Zan.bar entered European markets and integrated its product with 12 banks in the UK.

The third batch  of the Silkway Accelerator will start in March 2023; the training is free and will be held on-site in Astana; and will last three months. Applications from IT startups that operate on Product/Market Fit and Scale stages from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Georgia will be accepted until February 17. 

Participants will have access to masterclasses and mentoring from top Google experts, experienced Astana Hub trackers and mentors, and PR support. At the end of the third batch, a Demo Day will be organized, where startups will present their projects to local and foreign investors.

In addition, Astana Hub will provide participants with accommodation and a coworking room. They will learn how to effectively develop business processes and partnerships, scale, and attract investment.

"Initially, I thought it was just another normal startup program, but now I think it's the best one I've ever been a part of in my life. We started to be more active, but at the same time smarter, started looking for new business approaches that helped us accelerate our growth, particularly in the American, Canadian, and Australian markets," shared Yerzhan Asanov, CEO of Smoothly LTD, a participant of the first Silkway Accelerator batch . 

His mobile app Smoothly, which promotes falling asleep quickly, was one of the top 100 apps on the App Store in Canada and Australia in the Health and Fitness category, reaching over 30,000 downloads.

To learn more about the achievements of the participants of the first and second batches, please visit astanahub.com. Applications for the third batch of the Silkway Accelerator are accepted until February 17, 2023.

Google for Startups is a startup program launched by Google Corporation in 2011. It consists of more than 50 coworking spaces and accelerators in 125 countries and provides hands-on lessons for tech entrepreneurs.