Tag Archives: technology

Google and Kazakhstan to establish mining data

APRIL 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Google and McKinsey formed a joint venture with Kazakhstan’s government to establish a data centre for the mining sector. Asset Issekeshev, minister of investment and new technologies, said that the project was aimed at improving data transparency and project efficiency. Mr Issekeshev told the FT that Polymetal and Eurasian Resources Group have already signed up to the project.

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(News report from Issue No. 277, published on  April 22 2016)

 

Tech companies choose Georgian capital for lifestyle and low salaries

TBILISI, APRIL 15 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia is attracting globally footloose tech start-ups because of its relatively low taxes, skilled workforce and low salaries.

One of these is Topishare, now headquartered in one of Tbilisi’s oldest districts.

The grapevines dangling above doorways, the narrow streets and 19th century architecture are all in stark contrast to Topishare’s eight- person tech team who spend their days working on building what they hope will be a cutting-edge social media network focused on giving users increased privacy and greater control over what they read.

Israelis Rotem and Hila Peled, daughter and mother, co-founded Topishare.

“We have worked from Costa Rica, to Panama and Bulgaria, but Georgia stood out to us,” Ms Peled said.

“It’s not perfect, but the relatively easy business registration, easy visas, and low developers’ salaries convinced us.”

And Topishare is just part of a trend of tech start-ups moving to the Georgian capital. The angel.co website, which monitors start-up activities, said 42 were now based in Tbilisi.

Caroline Sutcliffe, an American, set up Chaikhana, an online media training platform and publishing tool focused on the South Caucasus, in Tbilisi two years ago.

She currently employs 12 people and said that although there have been problems, such as being turfed out of an office suddenly when it was sold overnight by the owner, there are plenty of positives.

“It is cheap to open a business, easy to open a bank account, there are few strings attached, labour is cheap, and rent is cheap,” she said.

There are problems with being based in Georgia, though, Eric Barret, another American who set up Jump- start, a platform which shares open- source technologies, said. He said that Tbilisi was a pleasant place to live but poor infrastructure was a problem.

“As a tech organization, we need to rely on predictable Internet service,” he said referring to the number of unscheduled outages that hit the Georgian internet network.

“Often my entire staff has to take a trip to a cafe that has Internet so we can continue to work.”

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(News report from Issue No. 276, published on  April 15 2016)

Satybaldy invests in Kazakh IT and finance

FEB. 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kairat Satybaldy’s new investment company Alatau Capital Invest, Baring Vostok Capital and Kaspi Bank signed a deal to co-invest in projects in Kazakhstan’s IT and finance sectors. Mr Satybaldy, President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s nephew, was the secretary of the ruling party Nur Otan until November 2015, when he became a shareholder in Kaspi Bank. Baring Vostok Capital is also a shareholder in Kaspi Bank.

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(News report from Issue No. 270, published on  March 4 2016)

 

Georgia opens Tech Park in bid to create Silicon Valley of S.Caucasus

TBILISI, JAN. 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a push to build the Silicon Valley of the South Caucasus, Georgia opened its new Tech Park in Tbilisi.

The project, backed by the government, aims to support young innovative entrepreneurs by offering free office and workshop space for three months and access to what has been dubbed the “Fab Lab” with the latest cutting-edge tech tools such as 3D printers and a laser cutter.

Georgian PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili said that developing the country’s entrepreneurial base was key to helping Georgia through its current economic slump.

“This is a direct investment in the future of Georgia,” media quoted Mr Kvirikashvili as saying at the opening of the site.

Tech Park, which covers roughly the area of two football pitches, took one year to build and cost 5m lari ($2m).

The concept behind Tech Park Georgia is that well-worn idea of casual interaction where employees from different companies, back- grounds and disciplines can mingle easily in learning centres, company offices, shared spaces and recreational areas.

Mariam Lashkhi of the Georgian government’s Innovation and Technology Agency explained.

“We first had to build the community, so we held hackathons, to see who is out there and to bring people together. We were amazed with the projects the young people came up with. Several startups were created after the hackathons, which are now joining the Tech Park,” she said.

Boris Kiknadze has just moved his two companies, the charity crowd- funding platform WeHelp and the online advertising firm and Wifisher, to the Tech Park.

“I really like that it brings together a collective of people, programmers, developers, business managers,” he said.

“And it’s a really nice place to hang out, where you can create new things, and build a better future.”

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(News report from Issue No. 263, published on Jan. 15 2016)

 

Arianespace sends Azerbaijan’s satellite

DEC. 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Arianespace, the French launch service provider, will send Azerbaijan’s second satellite into space from its launch site in French Guiana, Elmir Velizade, deputy minister of communications, said at a press conference. The national space agency Azercosmos launched its first satellite with Arianespace in 2013. The new Azerspace-2/Intelsat 38 satellite will be put into orbit in 2017.

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(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

 

Uzbek President signs investment programme

NOV. 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Official media in Uzbekistan reported that President Islam Karimov has signed a resolution to begin a $16.6 investment programme running in 2016 and 2017. The main focus of the programme is to upgrade and modernise the country’s technology and energy sectors. Projects include part of a gas pipeline to China and the construction of both a petro-chemical plant and a thermal power station.

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(News report from Issue No. 257, published on Nov. 20 2015)

 

Microsoft launches programme in Armenia

OCT. 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — US’ Microsoft launched a new so- called acceleration programme for start-up companies at its Innovation Centre in Armenia. People working on 14 new projects selected for the programme will receive in- depth training in California, Australia and Russia. Armenia has been looking to attract increased investment from tech start-ups over the past few years and has brokered various deals with Microsoft.

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(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)

Georgia bets on Bitcoins

SEPT. 25 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — BitFury, a company linked closely to Bitcoin, will build the first Technology Park in Georgia and has pledged to invest $100m in the project (Sept. 24). The Park is being built in Gldani a district of Tbilisi. BitFury provides technological infrastructure for Blockchain, the virtual wallet for the Bitcoin payment network. It already operates a data centre in Gori, 70km west of Tbilisi.

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(News report from Issue No. 249, published on Sept. 25 2015)

Turkmenistan wants electronics

MAY 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Apparently not content with a booming gas industry, Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said that he wanted to develop an electronics industry. Mr Berdymukhamedov has been keen to push Turkmen industry.

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(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)

 

Georgia PM says wants 100% internet coverage

MARCH 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) –  Keen to boost the government’s progressive credentials, Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili said he wanted the entire country to have access to high-speed internet by 2017. Currently around 40% of the country has high-speed internet, he said.
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(News report from Issue No. 225, published on April 12015)