ArmInfo. Orion Summit 2022 kicked off in Armenia. Ameriabank, a leading fintech organization, is the platinum sponsor of the Summit. The Summit is held with the aim of supporting the ecosystems in Armenia, identifying problems and finding solutions for the development of these systems, which will ultimately contribute to the growth of the economy.
According to founder of Orion WorldWide Innovations Emma Arakelyan, this year the company worked with 5 Armenian startups, which, in a short period of time, having passed the acceleration in the New York BAJ Accelerator, showed an impressive growth from 10 to 200 times. Orion intends to bring these startups to the international market and help them raise funds. "We want to show the world that Armenian startups can grow quickly, meet international standards, and help them present their innovations to the world," she said. According to Arakelyan, the selected startups represent such segments as e-commerce, biotech, artificial intelligence and human resource. Answering a question from an ArmInfo correspondent, she stressed that all the programs and activities carried out by Orion have one goal - to change the mindset in Armenia. <The challenge of developing ecosystems in Armenia lies in the mindset that needs to be changed. In addition, one should be more prepared to present oneself to the world with courage, since Armenian innovations have a high level on the world stage>, the founder said. In this vein, she noted that over the past 8 years, in terms of the level of development of startups, Armenia occupies good places in various ratings.
Co-founder of Orion WorldWide Innovations Diana Arzumanyan, recalling that last year, within the framework of its programs, Orion trained 3 Armenian startups, for which they managed to raise $27 million, and announced plans to double this amount this year. In particular, she noted that the 5 startups selected this year have the potential to become unicorns (the unofficial name of the company, whose capitalization of assets has reached $1 billion - ed note).
Artem Shamtsyan, Director of Innovation and Digitalization at Ameriabank, noted: "Today we are on the path of digital transformation, and we see our growth within the ecosystem approach. By participating in such events, and being the main sponsor, we attach importance to both the development of innovative startups based on the ecosystem approach, and the number of investors operating within the ecosystem. The main thing is to create digital platforms that include both financial and non-financial services - this will become an ecosystem. In other words, the bank is proactive and is transforming into an ecosystem in several areas, incl. with access to fintech startups. The bank is already a partner for both newly created and operating startups. We are providers of not only financial services, but also ecosystem services that allow companies, incl. startups to grow and scale>.
Ameriabank's Legal Director David Sargsyan, in turn, said that Ameriabank supports the Summit, as it has always been an innovative company. "This is one of the important events that will contribute to the development of ecosystems. Our company implements several programs aimed at creating ecosystems that will increase the availability of products for customers. This will lead not only to the active operation of the systems, but also to reduce time costs and costs. As a result, consumers will be able to get their preferred product in the shortest possible time, and businesses will be given the opportunity to reduce time to market (the time that passes from the moment a product is created to the start of its sales - ed. note)>, he said, noting that Ameriabank has developed several ecosystems which, after the completion of certain procedures, will be presented to the market.
During the Summit, panel discussions were held, in which Artem Shamtsyan, Director for Innovation and Digitalization of Ameriabank, David Sahakyan, Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry of the Republic of Armenia, Martin Galstyan, Chairman of the Central Bank, Diana Arzumanyan, Director and Co-Founder of Orion WorldWide Innovations and others, took part in the event. The main speaker of the event was a well-known expert in the field of investment banks and financial consulting Mark Chenyan.
Orion Worldwide Innovations was founded in 2017 in the USA. The company has offices in New York and Yerevan and cooperates with networks of companies and investors operating around the world. The company's activities are aimed at developing startups, helping them enter the US market, improving customer acquisition strategies, supporting them in maintaining competitiveness, etc.
Ameriabank, being the largest financial institution in Armenia with assets of over AMD 1 trillion, plays an important role in the country's economy. Ameriabank, being a dynamically developing universal bank, provides a wide range of innovative banking services through a multifunctional platform, with a focus on digital products. The Bank adheres to a client-oriented policy, providing a high quality of service and using modern banking experience in an evolving digital environment. Ameriabank is committed to the principle of responsible business conduct and contributes to Armenia's transition to an environmentally sustainable future. Among Armenian banks, only Ameribank's shareholders include such institutional investors as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (17.74%) and the Asian Development Bank (13.93%). Ameriabank holds the leadership in the banking system of Armenia in terms of key financial indicators (assets, liabilities, loan portfolio, net income, capital).
