The results of the in-person stage of the SCO Business Incubator International Acceleration Program were announced in Omsk, the Youth capital of Russia. It was held from August 19 to 23, 2025 and brought together entrepreneurs from all 10 member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Russia, China, Kazakhstan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Belarus.
Since 2011, the SCO Business Incubator has served as a platform for concluding long-term partnership agreements between young entrepreneurs and attracting foreign investment. Pitch sessions in front of investors, B2B meetings and visits to Omsk enterprises were included in the business program for unlocking the potential of young entrepreneurs.
"Entrepreneurs have managed to set a record for the number of cooperation agreements signed – more than 80 agreements were signed today. Let me remind you that about 20 agreements were reached last year. The growth is due to the fact that the participants got to know each other before the face-to-face meeting. The SCO Business Incubator program provided for an online stage where colleagues could plan cooperation in advance and, at a meeting, agree on specific steps for joint development. We are glad that the participants are so interested in communication with each other. We are confident that all the plans outlined are being implemented," summed up the results of the work carried out by the head of the SCO Business Incubator, Tatyana Seliverstova.
For example, Natalia Sushko, co-owner of the Omsk coffee chain "Gussi Coffee", signed an agreement with partners from China, India and Uzbekistan to launch a franchise in these countries. Russian entrepreneur Oksana Khrabrova has also reached an agreement to open branches of the "Kodiki" Programming School in the SCO countries, including Iran, Uzbekistan and India.
37 participants of the SCO Business Incubator from 10 countries presented their business projects to investors. These are cases that have already been implemented at the regional or national level and claim to scale to the markets of the SCO countries.
From engineering and machinery to food and agricultural production, from animation to IT, all of that represent a wide scope of entrepreneurs' activities. Participants' projects were evaluated by 15 experts from India, China, Russia and Uzbekistan.
"From my point of view, the level of participants in the SCO Business Incubator and their projects has increased compared to the previous accelerator. For my team, for example, I took 12 out of 37 projects to keep an eye on. We will watch their presentations, study the analytics and make a decision on cooperation," said Artyom Androsov, Executive Director of the "Dome Foundation" Investment Fund. – “I was surprised by projects related to cinema and animation, there are several good IT ideas with artificial intelligence. For some retailers and venture capital firms, we can become specialized fund because we have similar areas."
Another important achievement of the SCO Business Incubator is the creation of the first Mentors and Investors Club under its auspices. The purpose of this professional association of entrepreneurs, investors and mentors will be long-term partnership and joint development of the business environment in the SCO countries.
Colleagues held the first strategic session. The architecture of the Mentors and Investors Club was approved, the main values and areas of work were identified.
Representatives of 10 countries signed an agreement on long-term cooperation for the benefit of the development of international youth entrepreneurship.
The main areas of work of the Mentors and Investors Club are networking and share of experience, joint investments — from pitching startups to monetary infusions, international partnership in the format of business missions to the SCO countries, as well as education and development through master classes, case analysis and workshops.
"The SCO Business Incubator program has clearly proved that entrepreneurship erases boundaries! All 10 participating countries have sent their representatives – almost 400 people with bright eyes, ready to cooperate. During the rich program, meaningful discussions took place, and a lot of work has been done to form partnerships and specific joint initiatives. The program's framework provided a powerful boost for the development not only of the SCO Business Incubator participants, but also for the entire business community in the association's space," said Dmitry Ivanov, Director General of the World Youth Festival Directorate.
The International Acceleration Program in Omsk, the Youth capital of Russia, opens a cycle of full–time stages. In the autumn of 2025, the most promising entrepreneurs from the 10 member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will meet again. This time, the venue will be the cities of the People's Republic of China.
