ArmInfo. The European Union (EU) intends to become <ambassador> of innovations and SMEs in Armenia. This was stated by the Head of the EU mission in Armenia Piotr Switalski, during a press tour to enterprises and start-ups, which were provided with financial and technical assistance within the framework of the EU Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) program.
<This program is very important to us. I am sure that SMEs can be the driving force of a country's economy, in which, in our opinion, there is a serious hidden potential. And one of the main directions of economic development of Armenia is innovation. We are confident that through the potential of SMEs and innovations, high results can be achieved. I am glad that the Armenian government shares this opinion with us, which opens up more opportunities for cooperation, "he said. The EU Ambassador to Armenia stressed that in European countries, on average, the share of SMEs in the GDP structure is around 70-80%, while in Armenia this figure remains at 40%. "Taking into account the experience of such countries, Armenia still has a long way to go," he said.
EU has allocated over 6 million euros within the framework of the SMEDA program, which is being implemented in Armenia by the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ). Thanks to the program, according to the Ambassador, 224 jobs were created, as a result, 22 new companies appeared on the market, and an additional 400 thousand euros were attracted. 2063 people took part in seminars, lectures and boot camps. In total, 65 startups received assistance in the amount from 5thsd to 50 thsd euros. In addition, SMEDA assisted in the creation of the Academy of Startups of Armenia, the program, which consists of 3 modules: start-up diagnostics, market selection and launch strategy, preparation of market validation. The Academy conducted 3 stages of acceleration programs, in which 41 alumni teams participated, over 120 teams participated in seminars and lectures, more than 60 mentors were involved.
At the same time, with the support of SMEDA, the Catalyst Foundation established the Hero House entrepreneurial center, which was created to comprehensively develop the technologies and ecosystem of startups in Armenia through initiatives to explore blockchains, digital computations, and artificial intelligence.
As part of the press tour, the delegation of the European Union visited the Hero House business center, where successes registered by startups (Breedge, Embry, Render Chain) within the framework of EU support were presented. After that, the European delegation visited Yeraz Business Center, where the heads of Qube and Cheesify told the Ambassador about their activities and future plans. The last point of the study visit of the European mission was the ANEL (Armenian National Engineering Laboratories) , which are located on the territory of the main branch of the National Polytechnic University of Armenia (NPUA). In ANEL, the Head of the EU mission in Armenia was presented with the developments and achievements of young specialists.
At the end of the press tour at the National Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the official opening of the Startup Europe Week Yerevan 2019 event took place. To note, the SMEDA program has been implemented in Armenia since 2016 by the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and will last until the end of 2019. SMEDA is part of the EU EU4Business and EU4Innovation initiative in the countries of the Eastern Partnership.