The initiative generated great interest among the target audience: 176 startups from four countries applied to participate in the program. Participating companies represented various industries, including education, technology, e-commerce, and solutions for travel and the promotion of national attractions. Participants completed an educational course from TikTok, learning how to create engaging content, interact with audiences, and launch effective advertising campaigns.

The project’s finalists included 40 startups whose teams traveled to Astana to present their development and promotion strategies on TikTok to representatives of the platform and Astana Hub. Finalists were selected based on several criteria, including the innovativeness of the startup idea, stage of development, plans for geographic expansion, and the quality of the promotion strategy on TikTok. Following the pitch sessions at Astana Hub, 10 winners were selected, sharing a total prize fund of $30,000, which they can use for promotion on TikTok.

• iTarla (Azerbaijan)
• Legko (Kyrgyzstan)
• Postureletics (Kazakhstan)
• Stepogram (Uzbekistan)
• Food-Ai (Kazakhstan)
• Qpia (Kazakhstan)
• Airun (Kyrgyzstan)
• Beksar (Kazakhstan)
• Documood (Azerbaijan)
• Talklif (Uzbekistan)

Magzhan Madiyev, CEO of the Park of Innovative Technologies:
“The partnership between TikTok and Astana Hub is not just an initiative, but a long-term strategy for the development of startups and innovative businesses. TikTok provides a unique platform that allows entrepreneurs to interact with a wide audience, test their ideas, and enter new markets. For Astana Hub, this project is of strategic importance, as it fully aligns with our mission to create conditions for the growth of startups, reveal their potential, and help them achieve success on the global stage. We also plan to expand our partnership with TikTok within the framework of educational initiatives, including Tomorrow School, where we will train a new generation of IT specialists and entrepreneurs.”

Julia Kushnir, Head of Business Development Department at TikTok in Kazakhstan:
“We strive to support entrepreneurs and help them use our platform to promote and grow their businesses. Our commitment to supporting businesses is evidenced by the fact that we have been training startup teams at the StartUp Academy for the third time. This year, we expanded the Academy program and gave as many as 40 teams from four countries the opportunity to present their promotion strategies during pitch sessions. Ten winners who presented the best ideas will receive grants that will enable them to implement their creative ideas into advertising campaigns on the TikTok platform.”

About TikTok

TikTok is a leading short video app with the mission to inspire creativity and bring joy to people.

About Astana Hub

Astana Hub is an international tech park of IT startups that creates conditions for the free development of Kazakhstan's and foreign tech companies.