Tatarstan hosts young Muslim entrepreneur innovations

By Huseyin Altinalan

KAZAN, Tatarstan

The 4th Kazan Organization of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) Youth Entrepreneurship Forum brought together the innovations of young Muslim entrepreneurs in Tatarstan's capital on Thursday.

Together with the presidency of Tatarstan, the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialog and Cooperation (ICYF-DC) hosted the forum in Kazan.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Tatarstan’s President Rustam Minnikhanov said that the establishment of the OIC Entrepreneurship Platform guarantees “stronger and sustainable” Youth Entrepreneurship Forum.

Minikhanov congratulated the ICYF-DC for its active role in the development of youth, and said he will continue to provide all kinds of support to make the IT city Innopolis more effective in strengthening the platform.

ICYF-DC President Elshad Iskandarov also stressed the importance of the OIC Entrepreneurship Platform, which he said "has achieved a much more comprehensive and sustainable climate".

Iskandarov said that the program's most basic strategic goal is to reduce the youth unemployment rate -- which he said is one of the fundamental problems of the Islamic world -- and to be actively involved in the global competition.

Speaking on the occasion, Turkish Technology Team Foundation's Chairman of Board Fatih Kacir said the foundation will continue to provide support to young Muslim entrepreneurs.

"We aim to spread the technological advancement that we started in Turkey throughout the Islamic world," he added.

OIC Secretary General Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen and Vice President of World Bank Global Center for Islamic Finance Development in Istanbul Zamir Iqbal also attended the opening ceremony of the forum.

The OIC Entrepreneurship Platform accepted more than 2,000 applications from Muslim countries over the past two years.

After online training and mentor evaluation processes, 26 projects -- which were selected from 300 projects -- were presented to investors.

The forum attracted 58 young entrepreneurs from 18 countries and senior investors from OIC member countries.