On October 11 and 12, 2022, The National Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Switzerland-Armenia Chamber of Commerce organized the “Business Promotion and Innovation Day 2022” at Gyumri Technology Center (GTC). The day event allowed 24 businessmen to present their idea and early-stage businesses during a 5-minute pitching session.
8 of the 24 presenting teams were wounded soldiers from the 44-day Artsakh war, living in Shirak Marz and participating in My Step Foundation’s pilot program of developing their professional potential and integrating them into the business ecosystem of Armenia. Armenia is an emerging hub for innovation, technology, science, and entrepreneurship, and public and private institutions can proactively impact the business culture and policies. Assisting and promoting entrepreneurs in Armenia, regardless of their background and gender, is the key to realizing equality in the social perception of entrepreneurship.
The President of the Switzerland-Armenia Chamber of Commerce, Mike Baronian, stated the importance of Armenian companies gaining recognition globally. For example, the export of Armenian wines in Switzerland has increased due to the massive work done in the past years. The event was a great chance to network, strengthen connections, and create new opportunities for everyone, especially by allowing small and medium businesses to showcase their products and services to the attendees.
The CEO of NCIE, Hayk Margarian, promised that support would be provided not only in the beginning but also in the future as we try to understand the problems that prevent a start-up entrepreneur from putting the business on a stable foundation. He also added that the National Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is looking forward to organizing similar business promotion and innovation events in the different regions of Armenia.
Despite the challenges on the border, and the crisis happening all around, the event was a success with the following teams winning prizes for different categories.
October 11 (idea Stage Teams):
1st place 600$ Soldier Armen Mkrtchyan
2nd place MoodMap - AI tool that identifies a person’s mood from speech
October 12 (Earlt Stage Teams):
1st place 300$ “Havasar” Educational Applicaton - https://www.facebook.com/havasar.startup/
1st place 300$ Apricot
Protolab “Best Idea” Prize – www.protolab.am
We would like to thank everyone's professional input in the success of this event and congratulate the winning teams on their hard work and success. We're looking forward to more similar events to keep Armenia's entrepreneurial and innovative ecosystems prospering.
