Key stakeholders of Armenian, Azerbaijani, Belarusian, Georgian, Moldovan, Russian, Turkish and Ukrainian startup scene as well as the NGO leaders of the Central European region gathered in Hungary between 22-24 March. More than 70 startup ecosystem shepherds and NGO representatives from 15 countries attended “The Big Forum on Digitalization” conference organized by MeOut Group with the aim of sharing best practices and facilitating collaborations. As a side event of the conference, EuroAsian Startup Awards - part of world’s largest startup competition - organized a meetup where its local ecosystem partners conducted talks with the representatives of V4 countries.

At the conference, leaders of V4 and German NGOs as well as representatives of Armenian, Azerbaijani, Belarusian, Georgian, Moldovan, Russian, Turkish and Ukrainian startup ecosystems discussed the recent trends, shared best practices on how to make NGOs more effective using digital tools and discovered the potential fields of cooperation between innovative startups and civil organizations.

As a side event of the conference, EuroAsian Startup Awards (EASA) - part of the world’s largest startup competition - organized a meetup where more than 70 attendees got a unique insight into startup ecosystems of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russian Federation, Turkey and Ukraine. Local ecosystems partners of EASA talked about trends, data, characteristics and potential cooperation opportunities with a great emphasis on digital tools available for civil organizations. The event also provided the opportunity for EASA country partners to meet each other and establish cooperation.

“The initiative of MeOut Group and EuroAsian Startup Awards is unique in its kind as it facilitates global collaborations between startups and NGOs on one hand, and on the other, connects the organizations of V4, EaP countries, the Russian Federation and Turkey, which, as a result, significantly contributes to the global expansion of local and regional innovative solutions. A lot of new friendships have been made at the conference, which can pave the way for deeper cooperation among the startup ecosystems” - said Attila Sándor, President of MeOut Group.  

Strengthening relations among the startup ecosystems of V4, EaP countries, the Russian Federation and Turkey

Prior to the conference, EuroAsian Startup Awards organized the ‘Ecosystem Stakeholder Networking Event’ in Budapest. The aim was to provide a platform for networking and deepen the collaborations between the startup ecosystems. Representatives of V4 countries conducted talks on potential cooperation with the leaders of EuroAsian Startup Awards’ ecosystem partners.

“EuroAsian Startup Awards has started its mission to find and connect Armenian, Azerbaijani, Belarusian, Georgian, Moldovan, Russian, Turkish and Ukrainian startups to the global circulation in February. We find it important to invite our partners, introduce them to recognized Hungarian and regional stakeholders, inform them on the most important details of the competition, and provide a platform for them to connect each other. I think this event gave us all a strong base to start our mutual journey” - added Attila Sándor.