Kazakhstan offers $500 thousand for new technologies

Scientists can get up to $500 thousand in grants for commercialization of new technologists in Kazakhstan. The Technologies Commercialization Center of the Kazakhstan Ministry of Education and Science supported by the World Bank started accepting applications for the Grant Program for Technologies Commercialization 2014 on January 10, Tengrinews reports citing the official website of the Prime-Minister of Kazakhstan. The project will be continue for 2 year - until the end of 2015. The total amount of funding available through the project is $75 million: the World Bank will provide $13.4 million through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the remaining $61.6 million will be provided by the Kazakhstan Government. The program includes two types of grants. The first one is limited to $150 thousand per a project. It is provided for concept formulation: technical documentation development and certification. The second type of grants is limited to $500 thousand per a project. It is provided for development of a pre-production prototype and starting pilot production or short-run production. "The goal of the program is to find commercially feasible ideas and fund them to enable the researchers obtain licenses to their technologies, establish start-ups and start selling their high-tech products," the message says. According to the organizers, energy, advanced processing of raw materials, information and telecommunication technologies are the priority areas for the new developments.