Results of the annual international school of Green business ECO-TALK 2021
The annual international school of Green Business ECO-TALK on the basis of the Kazakh-German University has reopened its doors to young entrepreneurs of Central Asia who want to develop their eco-business from scratch or make an existing business more environmentally friendly.
During the 3 years of the program's existence, the project received 74 applications from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. 27 teams underwent intensive training, and 11 winners received grants from partners to develop their own business. The training included blocks on business planning and consultations on environmental areas: «Closed-cycle economics», «Water technologies and water quality» and «Development of renewable energy sources».
This year, the ECO-TALK program was held with the support of the EU project «European Union — Central Asia: Cooperation in the field of water resources, environment and climate change» (WECOOP), the Central Asian Youth Association for Water Resources (CAY4W), the International Water Secretariat of Canada (ISW) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
The project «European Union — Central Asia: cooperation in the field of water resources, environment and climate change» (WECOOP) (third stage from October 2019 to October 2022) aimed at improving the policy environment, climate change and water resources in Central Asia through its convergence with EU standards, and to stimulate green investment in relevant sectors of the economy to help achieve a noticeable reduction of pollution caused by human activities, including carbon dioxide (CO2). The project activities include support for the EU-CA Cooperation Platform in the Field of Environmental Protection and Water Resources and its The Working Group on Environment and Climate Change, as well as the international dimension of the EU Green Course in Central Asia to promote climate action.
On the first day, December 13, 2021, a meeting with mentors was organized for the finalists of Eco-Talk to exchange experiences so that the finalists themselves could share their knowledge and project ideas with the students of the Kazakh-German University in the Ecoton format.
On December 14, on the second day of the final event of the international School of Green Business ECO-TALK 2021, the finalists presented their presentations with business ideas in an ecological way to the international jury.
The jury, consisting of representatives of CAY4W, ISW and SDC, selected three winners as a result of the final round of the competition and awarded grants totaling $ 6,200:
I place — Anton Kostenko, Kazakhstan, renewable energy project «Dary Almarai»
II place — Saikal Alymova, Bakhtiyar Alymov, Assel Yerkinova, Yerzhan Turdubekov, Kyrgyzstan, the project on the closed cycle economy «Sota»
III place— Salohiddin Artykov, Uzbekistan, Sustainable Tourism Project «Atlas» .
The winners will use these grants to create or further develop their green business.
More detailed information about the School is available on the websites:
- http://www.academic-waters.org/
- https://wecoop.eu
- and on the project's Instagram page @ecotalk_incubator.
Watch the video about the ECO-TALK International School of Green Business at the link: https://youtu.be/KjtrvTKj2iE
For more information, please contact Elena Serebrennikova, Senior Communications Expert, WECOOP, email: media@wecoop.eu, mobile/WhatsApp: +77019814020, Nurgul Smagulova, Coordinator of Events and Communications, WECOOP, e-mail: nurgul.smagulova@wecoop.eu, mobile/WhatsApp: +77012066760, Elnura Abakanova, Communications Coordinator, Representative Office EU in Kazakhstan, e-mail: elnura.abakanova@eeas.europa.eu .