WNAM REPORT: On 12-17 May 2025, the 12th Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Youth Entrepreneurship Forum was held in Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan (RF), organized by the Eurasian Regional Center of the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF-ERC), the Ministry of Youth Affairs of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Selet Youth Foundation, and the Academy of Youth Diplomacy.
The opening ceremony took place on 15 May at the Selet-Batyr Youth Center, where key figures such as Timur Suleymanov, assistant to the Head of Tatarstan, Rafiq Ismayilov, Director of the ICYF-ERC, Egor Litvinenko, Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, Azat Kadyrov, Minister of Youth Affairs of the Republic of Tatarstan, and Aygul Gabdrahmanova, director of Selet Youth Center, welcomed participants and wished them success. The speakers emphasized the sustainability of the OIC Young Entrepreneurs Forum, the role this Forum plays in strengthening relations between Russia and the Islamic world, as well as its investment orientation.
During his speech, Rafiq Ismayilov, Director of the ICYF-ERC, informed about the many years of cooperation of the organization he represented with the government of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Ministry of Youth Affairs of the republic, spoke about the regional importance of the Forum, and also highly valued the work of the Kazan Forum in terms of the sustainability of startup projects authored by young businessmen.
After the opening ceremony, working sessions were held among startup representatives. In the next stage, representatives from Russia, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan made initial presentations about their startups.
It should be noted that within the framework of the Forum, working groups exchanged views on the topics of business plan development, target audience identification, entrepreneurship challenges and opportunities.
At the end of the event, Rafig Ismayilov and Azat Kadyrov presented certificates to the young participants of the Forum.
The main goal of the OIC Young Entrepreneurs International Forum, which has been held for more than 10 years, is to support newly created startup projects in the OIC region, as well as to stimulate the activities of young entrepreneurs and to encourage the emergence of new business ideas in a globalized world. It should be noted that every year, on the last day of the Forum, an international jury of experts makes decisions on financing the winning startup projects based on relevant evaluation criteria.
In addition to participating in cultural programs, forum participants visited entrepreneurial and startup entities, including sightseeing spots, in the Republic of Tatarstan.
