OREANDA-NEWS. July 31, 2014. Innovative scientific projects of Kazakhstan have the opportunity to receive additional commercial support from the state. Astana hosted a victory ceremony of projects on technology commercialization with participation of Deputy Minister of Education and Science Takir Balykbayev.

"This project is implemented by our Ministry together with the World Bank, and the best research projects in Kazakhstan will be shown thanks to it," T. Balykbayev said.

The total budget of the grant program on technology commercialization, according to Deputy Minister of MES, was 9.5 billion tenge. Of those, the World Bank loan - 983 million tenge, and 7.5 billion tenge was allocated from the national budget, he added.

"The contests were held in priority areas of science: energy, deep processing of raw materials and products, information and communications technology, life sciences. 16 projects with a total funding of 710 million tenge were the winners," T. Balykbayev said.

The project authors of the grant program will have to submit the results of the work done until the end of 2015.

According to MES, the total number of applications in 2014 to participate in a program of grants for technology commercialization amounted to 526 projects. The purpose of the program is to identify commercial viability of applicants’ ideas, their funding for technology licensing, formation of start-up companies and selling high-tech products based on international best practices.