Share Tweet Share Share Email The main goal for TEVCA is to be a strategic umbrella supporting venture capital and private equity by identifying challenges, developing solutions to improve the innovation landscape, raising awareness, and making the region one of the world’s most competitive and attractive investment and business-building destinations. In September 2024, an important and exciting new development in the region’s innovation ecosystem took place with the official launch event of the Turkic & Eurasian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (TEVCA) . This was followed by another meeting on Thursday 10th October 2024 during the “InMerge Innovation Summit” in Baku. TEVCA seeks to be the “Voice of Private Capital and Startups” in the region, serving the entrepreneurial and investment community. Co-founding members from across the region include SABAH.fund and Caucasus Ventures (representing Azerbaijan), 500 Global In Eurasia (representing Georgia), MOST Ventures and White Hill Capital (representing Kazakhstan), Accelerate Prosperity and AdVentures (representing Kyrgyzstan), Exponential Zaisan Partners and KITE Mongolia (representing Mongolia), 212 and The New Rising (representing Türkiye), Sturgeon Capital (pan-regional but HQ-ed in the UK), AloqaVentures and UzVc (representing Uzbekistan), as well as IT Parks from across the region. TEVCA is designed to act as a forum for knowledge exchange, networking, policy advocacy, and sustainable best practices across ecosystems that make up the strategic ‘Silk Road’ between East and West. The core pillars that TEVCA focuses on are community networking, ideas, deal flow exchange, policy recommendations and advocacy, and education, training, and enhancement. The main goal for TEVCA is to be a strategic umbrella supporting venture capital and private equity by identifying challenges, developing solutions to improve the innovation landscape, raising awareness, and making the region one of the world’s most competitive and attractive investment and business-building destinations. As a platform for the regular exchange of experiences and ideas among the venture community, the Association serves as both a unified voice of the regional investment community and an advocate for venture-backed companies, as well as corporates and other key players. The event presented the mission and vision of TEVCA, as well as its benefits for the region, and was opened by Abbas Kazmi and Rahim Bayramli, Co-Founding Partners at SABAH.fund, the architects behind the Association and this session. This was followed by contributions from Robin Butler, Partner at Sturgeon Capital, Alim Khamitov, Managing Partner at MOST Ventures, Günce Önür, General Partner at The New Rising, Pedro Vieira, Partner at 500 Global in Eurasia, Ali Karabey, Founding Partner at 212, Bolormaa Luvsandorj, Founder at KITE Mongolia, Nihat Majidov, Director-General at the High Technologies Park in Baku, Aijan Alisherova, TA Lead at Accelerate Prosperity, Aslan Sultanov, Founding Partner at White Hill Capital, and Zaynab Atabaeva, Chief Manager at IT PARK Uzbekistan. Yasin Jalilov, Deputy Executive Director of the Azerbaijan Investment Company, also joined the event and spoke about his interest in the Association and its exciting potential. Participants highlighted the importance of more collaboration to drive positive change in the region’s innovation sphere, venture capital, and startup ecosystems. Particular attention was paid to the potential for co-investment and joint exchange of deal flow, which will benefit both startups and investors. The importance of ESG and aligning with the latest global standards was also discussed, especially in the run-up to “COP29”, where sustainability and environmental issues will take center stage. A significant part was the discussion of a proposal to create a regional Fund of Funds across countries that make up the region, which will increase the amount of available funding in the ecosystem and support VCs and startups. The discussion highlighted the critical role of regional cooperation—particularly through TEVCA—in expanding access to capital, bridging funding gaps, and supporting startups as they scale in global markets. TEVCA is determined to place the region as one of the top-performing markets globally for venture capital, private equity, and startups, transforming its economies and societies through innovative technologies, and developing human capital, boosting job creation, and driving growth. Related Items: TEVCA , TEVCA launches , Voice of Private Capital and Startups Share Tweet Share Share Email CommentsClosed circuit screenshots of a person of interest in the UnitedHealthcare CEO killing. Source: NYPD UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot Wednesday doing something countless other American executives routinely do: Walking unaccompanied to an investor event held by his company. But Thompson's death this week in the heart of corporate America's capital has sent shockwaves throughout the business world, forcing companies to rethink the risks in even the most routine executive responsibilities. "Everyone's scrambling to say, 'Are we safe?'" said Chuck Randolph , chief security officer for Ontic, an Austin, Texas-based provider of threat management software. "This is an inflection point where the idea of executive protection is now raised to the board level. Everyone I know in the industry is feeling this." Threats against corporations have been rising for years, fueled in part by the echo chamber of social media and a more polarized political environment, according to security professionals. But the slaying on a Manhattan sidewalk of Thompson, head of the largest private health insurer in the U.S., is the highest profile such incident in decades. Companies now worry their leaders face greater risk of being targets of violence, especially as they hold more public investor events in New York in the coming weeks. The gunman is still at large, and his motivation isn't known. Words written on the shell casings found at the scene may offer hints about what incited the shooter. One question from security experts not involved in the case was whether the shooter demonstrated grievances against UnitedHealthcare in online forums and searched for information about the investor event. Several health-care companies have reacted by pulling photos of executives from websites, and health insurer Centene made an investor meeting virtual after the killing. Thompson didn't have a security detail with him on Wednesday morning, despite known threats against him, according to NYPD officials. None of the executives of UnitedHealth received personal security benefits, according to the company's filings . Cups mark the location of shell casings found at the scene where the CEO of United Healthcare Brian Thompson was reportedly shot and killed in Midtown Manhattan, in New York City, US, December 4, 2024. Shannon Stapleton | Reuters If Thompson had, several key factors would have been different. Personnel would have gone to the hotel before his arrival to detect threats; he also would have been accompanied by armed security who may have used an alternate hotel entrance, said Scott Stewart , a vice president of TorchStone Global. "This was preventable," said Stewart, who said he had nearly four decades in the industry. "I've never seen an executive with a comprehensive security program ever be victimized like that." Still, before this week's shocking events, it wasn't unusual for executives to decline security because of the disruption to their lives, or the image it may give, several security veterans said. "Not every CEO needs heavy duty protection," said the security chief of a technology firm who wasn't given permission to speak to the press. "Senior executives are subject to threats all day long, you need a platform to" examine them and determine whether they are credible and timely, he said. 'Guns, guards and gates' Since Thompson's killing, a wide spectrum of companies have sought extra protection for executives, Matthew Dumpert, managing director at Kroll Enterprise Security Risk Management, told CNBC. In the coming weeks, there are several financial conferences in New York with CEOs scheduled to attend in person. Until now, the major concern for these events has been disruption by environmental activists or other protestors, said a manager at large bank. "Everybody is taking a look and thinking through security for their senior people," said an executive at a major Wall Street firm who declined to be identified out of concern it would draw attention. Some corporate security veterans vented that they are seen as a cost center whose leaders are "buried too deeply in an organization to be listened to." "The bias is, security is a pain in people's butts, and not that important," said the person, who asked for anonymity to speak candidly. "I hope this opens their eyes," he said. "Risk intel and assessment is important, and security is about much more than just guns, guards and gates." — CNBC's Jordan Novet, Bertha Coombs and Dan Mangan contributed to this report watch now VIDEO 2:54 02:54 Companies bolster security around executives following United Healthcare CEO killing Money Movers
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