The first Women's Entrepreneurship Satellite EXPO 2023 in Kazakhstan challenges gender stereotypes

Date: Monday, 13 November 2023

Over 60 women entrepreneurs gathered on October 27 to network, partner, exchange experiences and knowledge, and propel their businesses to the next level within the Women's Entrepreneurship Satellite EXPO 2023 in Astana, Kazakhstan, organized by UN Women. Additionally, ten startups in such areas as healthcare, quality management, finance and investment, education, information technology, social entrepreneurship, and ecology, with the most promising potential for development and scaling were chosen from a pool of 85 contestants.

During the event, participants also attended four online workshops on key aspects of business planning, effective pricing, branding, product packaging, and digital marketing.

“This event is part of a series of EXPO satellite events being held in ten countries across the region. It is the first time such an event is taking place in our country, structured in the format of a pitch competition. I am immensely proud of our participants, displaying a forward-thinking approach, innovative ideas, and contributing to digitalization,” stated Dina Amrisheva, Head of UN Women Kazakhstan a.i.
Furthermore, Kazakhstani women entrepreneurs will have the chance to join the Women's Entrepreneurship EXPO 2023, taking place on 16-17 November 2023, representing Kazakhstan at the regional level.

Gulmira Parmysheva, a successful social entrepreneur and founder of the Kishkentai project, inspired women entrepreneurs to create businesses that make a difference. Photo: UN Women Kazakhstan

“The role of women’s entrepreneurship is exceedingly significant now. The more women promote their innovative ideas to the public and discuss their startups, the more successful woman-led projects we will witness. Hosting such a beneficial event in Kazakhstan is a fantastic idea,” remarked Yulia Mironova, founder of the eControl project, a quality management platform for working with electronic checklists to automate the process.

Aizhan Anuarova, one of the woman entrepreneurs who presented the Paidax platform for investments, said that following her presentation, she received valuable feedback from the jury, highly beneficial for her project. “Undoubtedly, women can be successful and innovative, contributing significantly to the economy. I believe that all gender stereotypes will soon become absolete,” shared Aizhan Anuarova.

Altyngul Taibassarova presented the mobile application "Balam" for kindergartens and parents. Photo: UN Women Kazakhstan.

From the competition results, five projects from each country in the region will be selected, and mentors will be assigned to provide support in preparing participants for pitching through workshops from January to March 2024. After the mentorship, two entrepreneurs from each country will be selected to participate in the final stage of Expo Capital Quest in Istanbul in 2024. This stage will offer them the opportunity to present their business to global investors.

Launched in 2021, the Women’s Entrepreneurship EXPO is a unique partnership platform to promote women’s entrepreneurship ecosystem building in the Europe and Central Asia region. EXPO provides an interactive space for women entrepreneurs, investors and private sector representatives for networking and collaboration, peer learning, ideas generation, capacity building and business development. EXPO 2023 is organized by UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Yıldız Holding as part of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator supported by Mary Kay.