On December 10, 2020, the third “AGORA: SCOLAR Vision” youth conference was successfully held in Qingdao city of China. The event was organized by SCOLAR Network in partnership with China-SCO Member States Technology Transfer Center where experts and entrepreneurs sat together to talk about technology transfer and entrepreneurship development in the SCO region amid COVID. The event took place both online and offline and was attended by Qingdao Government officials, diplomats, young entrepreneurs, students, young professionals, journalists to learn about the tech-transfer and entrepreneurship during and after the pandemic in the SCO- member states.
In the opening remarks, SCO Deputy Secretary General Sherali Jonon read out greetings from SCO Secretary General Vladimir Norov. Mr. Sherali Jonon noted that in the context of the scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformations, it is more important than ever to intensify cooperation in science and technology, the digital economy, e-commerce, and artificial intelligence. He has emphasized that it is necessary to use the potential existing in the SCO region, which received a new push during the pandemic, to develop the online economy, promote integrated development of digital and real sectors of the economy, and build up production and new industries.
Shanghe Trade & Culture House CEO and Co-founder of SCOLAR Network, Olim Alimov gave warm welcome to all guests and expressed that AGORA is a platform where young and ambitious entrepreneurs from different backgrounds with the growth mindset of a small and tight-knit community can come and convey their ideas to the leaders to listen.
Shanghe Trade & Culture House CEO and Co-founder of SCOLAR Network, Olim Alimov gave warm welcome to all guests and expressed that AGORA is a platform where young and ambitious entrepreneurs from different backgrounds with the growth mindset of a small and tight-knit community can come and convey their ideas to the leaders to listen.
Zoe Zhang, Director of the Aston Group’s Trading Department also welcomed all the guests and mentioned that China-SCO Member States Technology Transfer Center is a platform for the exchange of innovation and technology transfer in SCO member states aiming to build Qingdao model focusing on the scientific exchange, innovation, economic development, and trade.
The first panel was on the theme “SCO Region Tech Transfer: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly” where panelists discussed the challenges and opportunities of tech transfer in the SCO Region. Evgeniy Kosolapov, Permanent Representative of Skolkovo in China, mentioned that China is excelling in technology which is a challenge for other SCO region countries to keep up, however as all decisions are made by consensus in the SCO region, intra-transfer of technology gives an opportunity for everyone to grow. Similarly Iskander Baitassov, Director, “Samruk-Kazyna” Sovereign Wealth Fund JSC Beijing, mentioned that the bottom up approach is a key driver for technology transfer. Whereas Azizjon Azimi, Founder of tajrupt.ai, the first AI hub in Central Asia, believes with common legislation and policies, the entire SCO region can become an AI hub. Yasser Iqbal, Co-founder of Akkadu, shared his experience of working in different Chinese companies until he had found his passion in tech transfer with Akkadu. Overall, all speakers believed that there are opportunities for tech transfer within the SCO region through dialogue and cooperation.
The second panel discussion was held on the topic “Entrepreneurship during and after the pandemic” zoomed into the “Entrepreneurial ingredient” of the conference topic, unfolding the changing social and market landscapes through the discussion with four prominent China-based entrepreneurs from the SCO region: Artem Zhdanov, Founder of LaowaiMe, and Founder & Editor-in-Chief, EKD; Mars Pouyan, Founder & CEO, GBC; Kaha Gogiashvili, Community Lead at Innoway and Co-Director of Startup Grind Beijing; and Simon Zagainov, CEO at ExpoPromoter. They discussed the challenges in remotely working and project management, and the importance of new educational projects to provide support to globally-dispersed-entrepreneurial communities due to pandemic. Also, the panelists mentioned that even though COVID-19 has given entrepreneurs a hard-time, they are now thinking creatively on how to adjust to the post-pandemic market realities.
The Q&A sessions after each panel discussion saw an active and enthusiastic audience as participants got the opportunity to interact with panelists and get clarification on technology transfer and insight on the hardship of entrepreneurship during and after the pandemic.
Panel II: Entrepreneurship During & After the Pandemic
Panel II under the topic “Entrepreneurship During & After the Pandemic” zoomed into the “entrepreneurial ingredient” of the conference topic, unfolding the changing social and market landscapes through the discussion with four prominent China-based entrepreneurs from the SCO region:
Artem Zhdanov, Founder of LaowaiMe, and Founder & Editor-in-Chief, EKD ;
Mars Pouyan, Founder & CEO, GBC ;
Kaha Gogiashvili, Community Lead at Innoway and Co-Director of Startup Grind Beijing ; and
Simon Zagainov, CEO at ExpoPromoter.
Informed by their diverse walks of life and sectoral experiences, panelists shared insights about the challenges of doing business in the SCO region in these uncertain times, as well as the tech-enabled adjustments utilised to tackle these challenges.
Thus, Simon Zagainov reflected on the profound changes the traditionally very “tangible” industry of trade fairs has been undergoing. While stripping business communities of physical spaces to interact, test products & services, and build trust with potential partners overseas, technology has offered businesses more efficient options for product demonstration and partnership-building. For instance, as Simon said, the pandemic not only pushed many (especially smaller) companies to face the long-brewing realisation that the burdensome exhibition participation expenditures can be avoided in favour of online participation, but also encouraged companies to adopt new creative ways of making their product/service experience interactive in the virtual environment.
In general, remote work and distance project management has been a shared challenge across many communities, as marked by Mars Pouyan snd Kaha Gogishvil, who have been adjusting their teams’ workflows to bridge the unexpected geographical divides. Kaha also talked about the importance of new educational projects introduced during the pandemic at Innoway to provide support to the previously Beijing-based – and now globally-dispersed – entrepreneurial communities.
For all the panelists (each of whom has been based in China for a number of years), however, the very nature of fierce competition and ever-changing policy landscape in China has almost created an “experience cushion” when the pandemic hit. Although COVID-19 has undoubtedly given many entrepreneurs a hard time, the unique experience of innovating in China, where startups are born & die in an exceptionally accelerated tempo and companies have to adjust to constant revisions in the legal framework, has been a “school of life” for people like Artem, Mars, Kaha and Simon, who are now thinking creatively of how to adjust to the post-pandemic market realities.
While tech has definitely allowed business communities in the SCO region to stay connected to ensure the continuity of cross-border connections – either in form of physical trade flows or online communication across stakeholders – it will definitely not prove a panacea for the post-COVID socio-economic recovery, as agreed by all the panelists. Be it media, where the pandemic has shown the dangers of misinformation coupled with lacking education across the audiences; trade, where domestic production insecurities have been unveiled when the borders were shut; or consulting and accelerating activities assisting individuals to venturing into the regional business scene – tech is here to stay, but only as a tool to assist in achieving the primary objective of entrepreneurship: generation of creative and sustainable solutions for societal needs and inclusive development of the region and humanity at large.
Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Czv1OK5U2DJGf0NOhZB8zw