Bring your MVP or ready-made solution for a smart city — in 8 weeks we’ll take it to a pilot in a real urban environment and showcase it at Demo Day.
Smart City Accelerator aims to implement startup projects that transform the urban environment and improve quality of life through advanced technologies and AI. The program is built for startups and teams with an MVP or a ready-made solution: the Akimat (regional administration) of Aqmola Region becomes the test environment for piloting your product.
The first 4 weeks are for learning: online seminars, weekly tracking and expert consultations. The strongest projects launch 3 pilots in Akimat departments, receive conclusions from the working groups and pitch at Demo Day to city clients.
Weekly traction sessions — 40+ meetings per cohort: growth hypotheses, weekly plans, problem-solving.
Meetings with departments: in-depth interviews, launching a joint pilot and the chance to sell your solution to the city.
Group online seminars on building and growing a product — the skills to scale your project fast.
Industry experts: B2B, B2C and B2G sales, marketing, legal and accounting matters, business processes.
Each track lists example pilot tasks to show the direction.
Finance, safety, energy, education — if your product makes the city better to live in, it belongs here.
Tell us about your solutionThe city sets the program’s priority areas.
Apply online by September 1: tell us about your team and your solution.
Application screening against the criteria and interviews with experts.
Forming working groups together with Akimat departments.
Opening, online workshops, weekly tracking and expert consultations.
10 projects pitch at the midpoint — the best are recommended for piloting.
Developing pilot plans with Akimat departments: goals, success criteria and metrics.
Evaluation of pilot results and recommendations for implementation.
Final in-person pitches at Aqmola Hub to city clients.
Startups and teams with an MVP or another ready-made smart city solution: students, engineers, designers, entrepreneurs, sole proprietors and legal entities. Participants must be 18 or older.
No — you need a working MVP or another ready-made solution that can be piloted in an urban environment. The program is designed to take a product to a pilot, not to build one from scratch.
No — you bring your own solution. The tracks on this page are examples for inspiration: they show what kinds of products the city needs.
The program runs online: seminars, traction sessions and consultations. The final Demo Day takes place in person at Aqmola Hub.
Not necessarily. A solo founder can apply too — what matters is that the project has a working MVP.
Applicants are notified of the outcome of each selection stage within 10 calendar days of the decision.
The closing in-person event at Aqmola Hub: 5-minute pitches (3 minutes presenting + 2 minutes Q&A) to city clients. The best solutions for implementation are selected based on the results.
© 2026 Autonomous Cluster Fund “Astana Hub”
