Policy Advocacy Advisor
Talant is the Policy Advocacy Advisor at the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership (GDIP), supporting the Women in the Digital Economy Fund (WiDEF). Talant is the Chair and Co-founder of the Internet Society Kyrgyz Chapter (ISOC.KG) and a member of the UN Secretary General’s Multistakeholder Advisory Group for Internet Governance.
Talant’s experience includes working in international organizations such as the World Bank as a Digital Development Specialist and the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) as the Asia Regional Coordinator. He has served in the Kyrgyz Government as the Chief Adviser to the Prime Minister and as the Director of the Government Think Tank NISI.
Previously, he worked in academia as the CFO of the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, as a Scholarship Coordinator at the World Affairs Council in San Francisco, and in the private sector at Kazkommertsbank in Almaty. Additionally, he served on the boards of the Kyrgyz National TV and Radio Corporation, the Business Council of the Kyrgyz Parliament, the Bank of Asia, and the Humo Microcredit Foundation in Tajikistan.
Under Talant’s leadership ISOC.KG team promotes internet connectivity and digital transformation in developing countries. He has connected the most remote communities of Central Asia to the internet, including villages such as Suusamyr, Zardaly, and Kirchin. Other projects include the “Sanarip Insan” digital skills project for women and youth in rural areas funded by the European Union and the “ilimBox” project (Knowledge-in-a-Box), which brings educational content in local languages to unconnected rural schools and libraries.
Talant holds a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a bachelor’s degree (summa cum laude) in International Relations from San Francisco State University. He has also received executive education at the Harvard Kennedy School and NESA Center for Strategic Studies.