Armenia ahead of Georgia and Azerbaijan in startup ecosystem report – StartupBlink
YEREVAN, June 5. /ARKA/. Armenia has advanced 3 spots this year to 57th globally in the Israeli StartupBlink report. The StartupBlink is a global startup map and research center, working to uncover insights about trends affecting the global startup ecosystem, continuing last year’s positive momentum.
Armenia is still ranked 1st in the Caucasus region, with more than double the total score of its next contender, Georgia, which is 71st, while Azerbaijan is 84th. The score gap between these countries signals that Armenia will continue to hold the lead in the near future.
The report says that in 2023, Armenia’s capital Yerevan continued its positive trajectory by jumping 23 spots to rank 221st globally, as well as 18th in Eastern Europe.
Yerevan is the highest ranking city in the Caucasus region. Its score is more than double Tbilisi's score, and almost triple Baku's score. With Yerevan as Armenia’s only ranked city, the country's position depends greatly on its capital city.
The report cites Robert Khachatryan, Armenian Minister of High-Tech Industry as saying that as a landlocked country with restricted land access due to tensions with Turkey and Azerbaijan, the Armenian ecosystem manages to show true resilience.
Фссщквштп ещ ршьб еhe Armenian government has long understood that innovation is critical to the future of the country, and resources have been allocated to grow the ecosystem. The tech sector in Armenia attracts new investments that fuel growth.
The country’s first unicorn, PicsArt, reached a US$ 1 billion valuation and bought another Armenian startup, DeepCraft. Moreover, the Armenian startup scene has seen growth in terms of entrepreneurship and tech development, with companies like Shadowmatic and YerevaNN receiving praise for designing deep learning technologies.
A strong and successful Armenian diaspora is supporting the Armenian economy, and several highly successful American entrepreneurs of Armenian origin, like Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, are working to boost the local startup ecosystem. Armenian startups are built to target the global market from inception due to the small market size of the country. Armenia has a population of only 3 million people, but offers a sizable amount of tech talent.
In addition to the talent available in the country, Business Angel Network in Armenia plays an active role in the ecosystem by creating funding opportunities with the Angel Conference. Also, together with SAP Startup Factory, they have a B2B startup incubator called Startup Factory by BANA.
The Armenian government offers several programs to support its tech startups, including tax incentives. To support foreign investment, Armenia established Free Economic Zones and full ownership among other incentives under the legal framework On Foreign Investments. During the past few years, Armenia made significant progress in reducing bureaucracy and corruption.
While the Armenian startup ecosystems are still in their early stages and the country has work to do to recover from its turbulent past, there is substantial untapped potential waiting to come to the surface.
"Yerevan's rising prominence in the global startup landscape is a testament to the unwavering commitment of the Armenian Government to foster a thriving ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship. Our goal is to increase national competitiveness and we’re happy to see recognition of the government policies and programs results. As a leading player in the startup arena, we have been actively supporting and nurturing startups in Armenia, creating an environment that is conducive to their growth and success," the minister says. -0-
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14:01 06/05/2023
