May 18, 2023 The IX Kazan OIC Youth Entrepreneurship International Forum jointly organized by the Eurasian Regional Center of the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF-ERC), Ministry of Youth Affairs of the Republic of Tatarstan (RF), and Youth Social Fund "Selet" of  Tatarstan Republic, started its work in Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan.

At the opening ceremony of the event, Damir Fattakhov, Deputy Head of the Russian Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh), Rinat Sadikov, Minister of Youth Affairs of the Republic of Tatarstan, Elchin Asgarov, Chair of the Board of the ICYF-ERC, and Timur Suleymanov, Assistant to the Rais (President) of the Republic of Tatarstan, made a congratulatory speech and expressed their satisfaction with the fact that the Forum has already become traditional, as well as they emphasized the promotion of new startup ideas for the sustainability of this format. Additionally, a positive assessment was given to the contribution of investments in some projects over the years.

Within the framework of the Forum, panel discussions, lectures, interactive seminars and project sessions were held on the topics of "Development of young entrepreneurship in Russia and OIC countries: difficulties and ways of its solving”, "Youth entrepreneurship within the Islamic world" and "Implementation of innovative startup solutions in the OIC countries” with the participation of well-known investors and experts representing different countries.

Partners of the event - Sabah.lab Acceleration Center, Next Step Innovation Center, International Incubation Center and Innoland Incubation and Acceleration Center were presented within the framework of the Forum. 

More than 200 applications were sent to participate in this year's Forum, and a jury of experts selected 31 startup projects representing 14 countries (Azerbaijan, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, Türkiye, USA, Kenya and etc.). Along with the OIC Member States, representatives of non-Member States such as the US, UK, Canada, Russia, Germany, and Georgia are also participating in the Forum with a view of supporting the Muslim communities out of the OIC geography and also creating favorable conditions for exchanging experience and knowledge with the youth beyond the OIC geography.

The "OIC Youth Entrepreneurship Forum" initiative was launched by the ICYF-ERC and aims to eliminate unemployment among young people by creating new jobs in OIC member countries. It should be noted that more than 1000 young businessmen from 50 countries have participated in the Kazan Forum, and the investments allocated to start-up projects exceed 2 million USD. 

It is worth adding that Forum, held annually in Kazan within the framework of "Russia - Islamic world: Kazan Forum 2023” and attended by 80 participants, is also intended to contribute to the implementation of startup ideas in the field of IT and the establishment of relations between young businessmen working in this field, including cooperation in the field of economy, trade and innovation between the Russian Federation and OIC countries.