Tech4Impact is developing a Central Asia Mentoring Platform to help close the mentoring gap for start–ups in the region – by training mentors and matching local and international mentors and mentees.
Year founded
2019
Location
Uzbekistan
Sector
Education
Stage
Scale up & growth
Uzbekistan’s start-up ecosystem is experiencing a mentorship gap. On the one hand, start-ups do not have the right connections to find mentors, and on the other hand, there are not enough qualified mentors.
Uzbekistan has many business, environmental and other problems that could be solved with solutions created by start-ups, guided by experienced mentors. Furthermore, the growth of sustainable start-ups will lead to the creation of new jobs and fuel tech entrepreneurship in the region.
The Central Asia Mentoring Platform’s goal is to form and strengthen mentorship culture and create a mentor’s community in Uzbekistan and the Central Asian region. The platform aims to empower existing and potential mentors to boost knowledge and skill transfer by helping start-ups define and solve problems in their local communities using technology and entrepreneurship. It will provide start–ups and mentors with access to experienced mentors from Silicon Valley, the UK, and Central Asian countries. The platform has a special focus on women-led entrepreneurship and helping women-led start–ups.
The team focuses on economic empowerment, tackling target SDG 8.2. in achieving a higher level of economic productivity while using mentorship programmes. The platform has brought together a pool of mentors in Central Asia (in the form of an online database) that is set to grow each year. Currently, the platform has helped around 50 local start–ups (with individual and group mentoring sessions, workshops etc.).
“BOOST was a great experience for us! It was very inspiring to meet so many women-led organizations across the region. The programme is very content-packed, but all modules are relevant both for start–ups, as well as NGOs. The most valuable modules for us were Impact Management and Behavioural Insights. Our mentors helped us to fine tune our business model (that we have struggled with). Also, the team at BOOST was very helpful and has been committed to the success and learnings of all participants.”