The “Baku ID 2025” startup and innovation festival, organized by the SABAH.HUB Innovation Center and with the main partnership of the Center for the Analysis and Coordination of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) under the Ministry of Economy, has come to an end.

The main goal of the event, held on June 19–20, was to establish connections between startups operating in the fields of innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship and investors, as well as to stimulate their development and financial attractiveness.

On the first day of the festival, Executive Director of C4IR Fariz Jafarov participated as a speaker in the panel “AI as a Talent Multiplier: Shaping the Future Workforce,” sharing his views on the impact of artificial intelligence on the labor market and education.

At the roundtable titled “Venture Building and Corporate Innovation in Azerbaijan and the Region,” attended by the leadership of C4IR, inter-institutional cooperation focused on innovation in the region was discussed.

On the final day of the festival, the panel session “Future-Proofing Education: AI & Academia Unite” organized by C4IR was held. Moderated by the head of the Digital Economy Department of the Center, Khayala Fatullayeva, the panel featured participation from CEO of “Qwasar” based in Silicon Valley Kwame Yamgnane, Niall McNulty from Cambridge University, founder of “MentalUP” Igor Burattini, and Lead AI Specialist at SOCAR Mirakram Agalarov. The speakers exchanged views on the integration of artificial intelligence technologies into education, the use of AI tools in building agile teams, and potential EdTech opportunities for the region.

It should be noted that C4IR’s booth also attracted great interest during the festival. Visitors were informed about the “National Program,” the “Industry 4.0 Readiness Program,” the World Economic Forum’s “Summer Davos” initiative, and the “Strategic Intelligence” platform. Over two days, more than 150 visitors joined the “National Program” to benefit from free access to the Coursera online education platform.

At the conclusion of the “Baku ID 2025” event, winning startups that gave presentations at the festival were awarded investment prizes totaling 3 million USD. This year’s festival brought together over 5,000 participants, more than 140 startups, and 47 sponsors and partners.