Vahan Kerobyan: Armenian companies do not fully exploit opportunities  in innovative terms

ArmInfo. The field of technology is supposed to be innovative, and when we try to see how much research work is done and implemented in the business sector of Armenia, we understand that it is a very small percentage. Armenian Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan stated this during his speech at the DigiTec technological exhibition-forum.

In this regard, he said that soon the Ministry will present a program  aimed at stimulating innovation in business.

Kerobyan noted that increasing the innovation and productivity of  companies is one of the government's priorities. Therefore, in order  to achieve these goals, according to him, it is necessary to take  bold steps, take risks.

The minister noted that in order to ensure this innovation, first of  all, it is necessary to create an environment where the rule of law,  freedom of speech, and protection of intellectual property will be  ensured. "Figuratively speaking, we need to raise a cow that will  constantly give us milk," he stressed.

Kerobyan also said that the results of a study conducted together  with partners from the EU showed that over 90% of Armenian companies  are underdeveloped in the context of digitalization. Even in IT  companies that produce digital products, internal processes are not  properly digitized.

In this context, Kerobyan said that it is planned to soon approve a  three-stage assistance program for the digital transformation of  companies. He explained that the state intends to subsidize the  rental of a specialist who will deal with digital transformation  processes and present its advantages and features to companies. In  addition, the state will subsidize the investment costs of companies.  In case of successful implementation, according to the minister, part  of the funds of the enterprise will be able to return through the  cashback mechanism.

<This is one of the pain points that our companies are not taking  advantage of opportunities in the context of using innovation in  their work. And thus, they lag behind in comparison with other  countries>, he stressed.

It should be noted that according to the RA Statistical Committee,  the sector of information and telecommunication technologies (ICT) of  Armenia accelerated its growth rates from 7.4% to 65% in 2022,  providing revenue of 570.4 billion drams ($1.3 billion).

The dominant segment in Armenia's ICT is the service sector, which  accounts for 77.7% or 443.4 billion drams (y-o-y growth of 44.6%), of  which the largest part is represented by information technology -  167.7 billion drams y-o-y  growth of 75. 7%), and the  telecommunications segment accounts for 132.1 billion drams, which is  6.3% higher than in 2021. The manufacturing segment traditionally  accounted for the smallest part - only 0.5% or 2.4 billion drams,  with a y-o-y decline of 0.9%.

Revenue in the field of ICT in the trade sector for 2022  increased  3.4-fold- up to 124.6 billion drams.

DigiTec 2023 is an international technology exhibition, which is  considered the largest in the region, attracting more than 60,000  visitors and 120 local and foreign companies, including leading  companies in the industry. The permanent organizer is the Union of  Advanced Technology Companies. Thematic sections of the exhibition  are: accounting, banking and financial software; design and testing  of microcircuits; computer graphics, multimedia, games; databases and  data management systems; production, import and export of computer  equipment; internet applications and e-commerce; Internet providers;  IT services and consulting, system integration; development of mobile  applications; networks and communications; automation; software and  programming languages; robotics and web design and development. This  year, DigiTec takes place from March 10 to March 12 at the Sports and  Concert Complex after Karen Demirchyan.