The meeting started with a tour around Technopark, where the CEO, Magzhan Madiev, spoke about the activities and current rates of the hub, as well as the support measures for startups. Yersultan Yermanov, Director of the Department of the Development of Information and Communication Technologies, delivered a welcoming speech. Trackers and members of the first and second cohorts also participated in the opening day, sharing their impressions, discoveries, and achievements.

"We are very satisfied with the level of startups in the current year, and I expect excellent results from the projects for the next 3 months in the Silkway Accelerator because we have already seen good results from previous cohorts. Startups from previous cohorts collectively achieved good results: company valuations of $300 million, MRR of $750,000, and attracted investments of $7.2 million. We hope that acceleration for the participants of the third cohort will be a starting point for new achievements," noted Magzhan Madiyev, CEO of the International Technopark Astana Hub.

The competition for a place in the third cohort was as strong as in the previous ones, with 280 applications from 8 countries in Central Asia, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. As a result of the four stages of selection for the prestigious accelerator, the 15 best startups were chosen: ApartX, Bilimber, BILLZ, Cody, EZapp, Garderob, Kid Security, Kwaaka, Let's Codify, Proportunity.kz, ProsperPay, Squares, TASS VISION, TrustContract, and Voiceloft.

"In this cohort, we are the only startup from Kyrgyzstan. We moved to Astana with our product for the automation of the search process and recruitment, 'Let's Codify,' for three months, and most importantly, we are treated like we are at home. I really like the rhythm of the city; it's very fast and very IT. We are one step closer to the unicorn," shared Dinara Ruslan, CEO and founder of Let's Codify.

The education process of the acceleration program will be held offline in Astana for three months. In addition to mentorship, members received free accommodation near Astana Hub.

More information about the members of the third cohort and the achievements of the participants of the first and second cohorts can be found on the Astana Hub platform.

Kazakhstan is the first and only country in Central Asia to have launched a joint acceleration program with Google for Startups. Considering the effectiveness and high ratings of the previous two cohorts of the Silkway Accelerator's joint acceleration, Google for Startups has decided to continue its exclusive cooperation with Astana Hub in 2023.