Kate Bunina, Director, Silicon Foundry, Qatar
“We can clearly see the success in the UAE and how effectively it operates within the digital economy. I should also mention that the example where ministries submit challenges and startups or the public propose solutions — was successfully implemented by the government in the Czech Republic as well, ultimately leading to the creation of a standalone NGO to continue the work. I would love to see similar initiatives adopted in Central Asia.”
Ibrahim Nasibov, Country Representative at White Hill Capital
“Being a Central Asia–based fund, when we invested in startups, we quickly saw that the regional market is not very scalable. To grow, startups must expand abroad. Europe is highly regulated, the U.S. is extremely competitive, and Southeast Asia is culturally distant from Central Asia. That’s why the GCC has become the most promising destination. This year, we began helping Central Asian startups enter GCC markets through acceleration programs, providing soft-landing support, mentorship, and warm introductions to investors, corporations, and major holdings. Our partnership highlights an important point: Central Asian (and Caucasus) governments must actively drive these efforts. Without government initiative, even strong private-sector programs struggle to achieve meaningful results.”
Walid Tarabih, Founder of Relik & PlatX
“The UAE is introducing several initiatives to stimulate the startup ecosystem. The goal is not just branding but creating real, low-barrier access for startups to enter the market. This includes programs which help startups pilot solutions directly with government entities. This approach is significant because traditional government procurement systems are often inaccessible to startups due to long payment terms, performance bonds, and other requirements they cannot meet. This effectively blocks startups from accessing up to 90% of the local market, since government spending dominates the economy. In contrast, the UAE model brings startups into challenge-based collaborations with government agencies. A startup with a relevant solution is matched with a government entity under an MoU, and they work together for 10 weeks to solve a specific problem. If the startup delivers results, the pilot becomes a full contract. This gives the startup its first major client, a government reference, proven product-market fit, and the momentum to scale and offer its solution to other public-sector entities.”
Khalid Al Tattan, Founder and Managing Partner, Leaders Lane
“If we look at the main advantages of Eurasian countries, the region stands out for its strong technical talent. But beyond that, there are challenges we need to address to create real cross-border synergies and scale toward the GCC.
One of the reasons GCC capital is cautious at the early stage is the relatively young startup ecosystems in places like Azerbaijan. But this also creates major opportunities once startups move beyond the initial funding rounds. For example, when a Baku-based startup wants to expand into the GCC, we treat the GCC as one integrated market and leverage each country’s strengths. A common pathway is to use Bahrain as the entry point: the company sets up there to benefit from talent access, a supportive regulatory environment, and government incentives. Once established, we use the Bahrain–Saudi frameworks to scale the startup efficiently into Saudi Arabia while keeping costs low through available subsidies. The next step is to build cross-border investment synergies — joint funds that bring together GCC and Eurasian investors to support scalable, high-growth companies across both regions.”
Yasser Biaz, CEO-founder, Global Cyber Partners
“The discussion often focuses on how to attract GCC investment into Central Eurasia by highlighting the region’s strengths. But the relationship is far more reciprocal. On the GCC side, there is capital, global know-how, advanced regulatory frameworks, and a clear vision driven by economic diversification. Central Eurasia can match this with its deep STEM foundation rooted in the Soviet academic tradition, ongoing infrastructure modernization, growing connectivity — including physical and fiber networks — and strong energy capacity to support large investments. Similarly, the GCC’s expertise and innovation ecosystem align well with Central Eurasia’s rapidly developing startup landscape and expanding technological capabilities. And while the Gulf offers advanced policy frameworks, many Central Eurasian countries are now undertaking significant reforms that further strengthen the partnership potential.”
