The second “Business to Business” startup competition, implemented with the support of the Small and Medium Business Development Agency of Azerbaijan (KOBIA), initiated by AccessBank, and co-financed by VISA, has successfully concluded. At the closing event dedicated to the results of the competition, the winners were officially announced.
The primary objective of the competition was to encourage individuals with innovative ideas to establish their own businesses, provide them with financial and mentorship support, and contribute to the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem by promoting business activity.
The competition, announced on 15 October of the current year, received more than 500 applications within one month. Based on evaluation criteria such as innovation, creativity, sustainability, and profitability, the jury selected 20 projects for the next stage. Following the second round of evaluation, 10 projects advanced to the final stage.
According to the jury’s decision in the final round, first place was awarded to Smarted Solutions (Safar Imanli) for the “Smart Cart” project; second place went to Lumimex for the project “Production of Coatings for Solar Panels”; and third place was awarded to Elshan Humbatov for the “Agritech Hydro Karabakh” project. In addition, the project partner VISA selected Fidan Guliyeva as the recipient of a special award for the “Imaret Botanica” natural cosmetics production project.
The first-place winner received a prize of AZN 25,000, the second-place winner AZN 20,000, and the third-place winner AZN 15,000. Furthermore, the special award selected by VISA amounted to AZN 15,000. The awarded funds may be used exclusively through cashless payment mechanisms.
In their speeches at the event, Orkhan Mammadov, Chairman of KOBIA’s Management Board, and Davit Tsiklauri, Chairman of the Management Board of AccessBank, shared their views on Azerbaijan’s startup ecosystem, state support and incentives for the implementation of new business ideas and innovative projects, as well as public–private cooperation and private sector support for startups.
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