💰 Debt Funding for Central Asian Startups: A Practical Guide for Founders

Most Central Asian founders only think about raising equity, but that means giving up ownership every time you need capital. Debt lets you fund growth, extend runway, and scale without dilution - if you know how to use it. Understanding when and how to raise debt is fundamental to your fundraising strategy and strengthens your position with equity investors.

Wednesday, November 26
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM GMT+5
Virtual ONLINE

LIVE by Helicap, ​ALMA, ​Sturgeon Capital VC

Join luma.com/8xvczbcd?&utm_source=startup.vg

@StartupVGlobal by @startup_course_com for @startupTash & @startupBishkek & @startupTaj
https://telegram.me/StartupVGlobal

🏆 Microsoft Imagine Cup 2026 Is Live — Build with AI, Learn from Experts, Compete Globally

January 9 Submission Deadline

Here’s what to do this week:

1. Register. Your registration unlocks everything you need to take your idea further:
aka.ms/2026ImagineCupRegistration

2. Activate your FREE Azure credits (up to $5,000 USD) portal.startups.microsoft.com/
These credits are designed to help you build, test, and scale your Minimum Viable Product (MVP) faster with Microsoft AI.

3. Stay focused on your January 9th submission.
Your project doesn’t need to be perfect, but it does need to be real.
Show us your build, your progress, your thinking, and your impact.
This is where student ideas turn into products that matter.

Featured Story: Helping Students Turn Their Builds into Breakthroughs

For more than two decades, Imagine Cup has been the space where student founders transform late-night ideas into companies with real traction.

Highlight alumni who started exactly where you are and built solutions that now reach industries from healthcare to agriculture to space:

Opaque Media: classroom project → used by NASA
SmartArm: AI prosthetic nearing FDA approval
From Your Eyes: 98%-accurate AI support for low-vision users
ProTag: raised $1M+ in agritech funding
Hollo: $1.8M HKD supporting youth mental health

These teams didn’t wait for permission. They built, tested, iterated…and Imagine Cup helped them accelerate what was already taking shape.

Read the full story and see what’s possible when students build boldly techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/studentdeveloperblog/20-years-of-student-innovation-helping-students-turn-builds-into-breakthroughs/4474237

Imagine Cup x GitHub x Replit: A Power Combo for Student Founders
Equipping student founders with enterprise-grade AI tools, meaningful mentorship, and visibility. Together, we are helping teams prototype faster, iterate with intention, and build solutions that are good for business and good for the world techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/studentdeveloperblog/imagine-cup-x-github-x-replit-the-power-combo-helping-student-founders-build-wha/4476611
Because when great platforms come together, student-built solutions can change industries and shape what’s next.

Apply until 08.01.2026
Register imaginecup.microsoft.com/?&utm_source=startup.vg

@StartupVGlobal by @startup_course_com
https://telegram.me/StartupVGlobal

💰 CEVF - Central Eurasian Venture Forum 2026

🎫 Early Bird Tickets

On April 3, 2026, the 5th anniversary Central Eurasian Venture Forum will take place in Uzbekistan, Tashkent. It's a leading platform for investors, tech business leaders, corporations, banks, and venture capital funds from Central Eurasia and beyond.
For the first time, the Forum will be held in Uzbekistan and co-organized with IT Park Uzbekistan. Hosting CEVF in Tashkent reflects the country’s growing role as a regional hub for the development of the startup ecosystem, technological entrepreneurship, and investment attraction.

The Forum agenda is titled “The Next Frontier for Smart Capital”. Participants will explore how the logic of investing, venture capital, and AI-driven companies is evolving in today’s new reality and gain opportunities for direct engagement with potential partners.

The event is designed for both experienced and emerging investors, as well as corporate and financial institution representatives and regional startups looking to scale their businesses and expand into international markets.

🔥 Until the end of January, Early Bird tickets are available with a 30% discount across all ticket categories

🔗 More information about the Forum is available on the official website: ventureforum.asia/en?&utm_source=startup.vg

@StartupVGlobal by @startup_course_com
https://telegram.me/StartupVGlobal

🖐 500 Eurasia Accelerator Program. Apply by February 18th to be considered for Batch 10

Batch 10 kicks off on April 6th, in Tbilisi, Georgia. This is your opportunity to take your startup to the next level with a 12-week intensive program that provides funding, mentorship, and access to a global network of investors, mentors, and partners.

What You’ll Gain:
✅ A chance to receive an offer of $100,000 investment to fuel your growth.
✅ Hands-on mentorship from global experts across product, growth, and fundraising.
✅ A spot at Demo Day, where you’ll showcase your startup to venture capitalists and ecosystem leaders.
✅ Lifetime access to the #500Strong global network of founders, investors, and mentors.

This is your final opportunity to be considered for the upcoming batch.

Apply before 18.02.2026
500.co/founders/eurasia/accelerator?&utm_source=startup.vg

@StartupVGlobal by @startup_course_com
https://telegram.me/StartupVGlobal