Leadership Development Program
The mentoring program of KIMEP University: students work in pairs with mentors. The autumn cohort is open on the platform.
- 62
- students in the spring 2026 cohort
- 36
- mentors
- 58
- student and mentor pairs
Back the next generation of entrepreneurs
Create your own development program for young entrepreneurs: for nine months they build their own project with mentors, and you see the result of every week.
The program is in development. We are forming the first cohort together with foundations, universities and patrons.
How the program works
For young people with ability and a readiness to work who are still short of money, experience and connections. For nine months each of them works on their own project with mentors and receives a stipend.
Selection
Before the start
We look at the goal and at what the person has already done for it with what they had: everyone starts from a different place. An interview, then a decision by letter.
Stipend
From the first month
The partner pays for the training and the participant receives a stipend, so they have money to live on while working on the project.
Own project and mentors
Months 1-9
Everyone runs their own project. Participants arrange meetings with mentors and industry experts themselves and come with a ready question.
A result every week
All nine months
Each week the participant shows what they did: a file, a link or a photo. A step counts once there is proof. If the work stalls, the tracker knows that same week.
Grant and investors
After 9 months
Those who have shown results can apply for a business grant and show their project to investors. Partners agree on the grant terms before the cohort starts.
What participants leave with
- Proven skills
- A portfolio of real work
- Connections in the industry
- Experience building a product or a business
What the partner gets
The partner pays for the participants' training and stipends. It can be a patron, a foundation, a company or a university.
A report on every participant
Every week the participant shows what they did and attaches proof. Once a month the tracker sends a report, and at the end of the cohort a summary for each project.
A cohort for your goal
We choose the cohort's focus together: an industry, a city or a university. Your representative can take part in the selection.
Your name on the program
The cohort or the stipend can carry the partner's name. Participants know who supported them.
Projects before anyone else
By the end of the program each project has nine months of history: what was tried, what worked, which numbers. You are the first to decide who gets a grant, an investment or an order.
People for your team
For nine months you see how a person works. You can invite the best participants to an internship or a job.
Your staff as mentors
Employees and alumni help participants where they have experience. The participant comes to a meeting with a ready question and shows what they have already done.
Our experience: the KAEF program
Since May 2026 Agartu Space has run the grant program of the KIMEP Alumni Endowment Fund, the endowment fund of KIMEP alumni. The new program builds on this experience.
April 2026
Contract with the fund: development program, fundraising, grant cycle, results platform.
May 18, 2026
The KAEF program opens on the platform: application tracks for students and mentors, selection stages, interviews, decision letters.
100+grant applications went through the platform
May-September 2026
57 million ₸ raised and committed, including 40 million ₸ gross from the Gala evening per the signed report.
57 million ₸raised in five months
September 2026
The grant was split by semesters: tuition and stipend. We are moving the fund's data since 2023 onto the platform.
27students study on the fund's grants
September 2026
The report to the founders is built from platform data and bank statements.
Who it is for, and who not
A good fit if
- you want to support young entrepreneurs with money or with your time as a mentor
- you want to see what each participant has done
- you are ready to agree on the stipend and grant size before the cohort starts
Not a fit if
- you need a one-off lecture or a course without a project of one's own. For that there is «Training for business»
- the program has to get money back from participants
Who runs it
Questions
Didn't find an answer? Message us on WhatsApp. We answer ourselves, during business hours.
Message on WhatsAppNo, we are preparing the first cohort now. Selection with interviews, mentor pairs and meetings already work in the KAEF and LDP programs.
Young people with a goal and a project who have already done something for it. We will open applications on agartu.space.
No. The grant and the stipend are not repaid. The participant commits to working to the plan and showing a result every week.
It happens. We assess what the person did and what they learned: after a closed project they still have a portfolio of work and experience. Those who have shown results can apply for a business grant.
Entrepreneurs and specialists from the participant's industry, university alumni, partners' employees. The participant schedules the meeting, and afterwards the mentor writes feedback.
We agree on the arrangement with partners before the cohort starts. In the KAEF program patrons pay straight to the fund's Kaspi account, and the platform receives no money.
We discuss it at a meeting: it depends on the number of participants, the stipend size and what the program includes.
Yes, for a university, a foundation or a company. Selection, mentors and a weekly result stay the same, the participants are yours.
Want to take part?
Applications are not open yet. Set your main goal on agartu.space and show your steps: in selection we look at what a person has already done.
Contact us
Let's discuss the first cohort
Leave your name and phone number. We will explain how the program works and show how selection and mentoring work in the KAEF program.
Other services
