ArmInfo.One of the problems in the business sector in Armenia continues to be the fact that the majority of the country's businesses (65-70%) are engaged in extractive activities or consumer services (mainly retail trade).
This was stated by the managing partner of the consulting company "Ameria", renowned economist Tigran Jrbashyan, answering a question from an ArmInfo correspondent, referring to the results of the second national report GEM Armenia National Report 2024/2025, prepared within the framework of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) on the sidelines of the event dedicated to its presentation.
"We are actually the first in the world in terms of involvement in extractive business", - he emphasized. Explaining that extractive activities include the mining industry, agriculture, etc., the expert noted that this is a low-productivity business. Compared to the same year in 2019, this figure, as Jrbashyan noted, has decreased, as people want to have a higher level of income.
In this regard, according to him, there is an outflow of entrepreneurship from villages, but not to Yerevan, but in the direction of other cities in the regions of the country. "This confirms our study that agriculture is becoming a less attractive type of business in villages due to low productivity," the head of noted. Referring to demographic data, he noted that extractive business is carried out by entrepreneurs with low and medium incomes. "But we consider it important that there is some decrease in involvement in this area compared to 2019," said Tigran Jrbashyan. At the same time, he expressed satisfaction with the fact that there is an increase in employment in transformative business (IT, high-tech, construction, industry, transport, professional services).
Among the main problems of the entrepreneurial sector, the economist also pointed out the so-called 'soleness' of business in Armenia. According to him, Armenia also differs from other countries in the fact that 44% of business is microbusiness, represented by one person. Jrbashyan noted that a very small share is accounted for by those who managed to grow from micro-business, so to speak, to break through the ceiling. "We launch a business, but we remain alone. We do not grow. Here, in my opinion, there is a need to clarify the priorities of state policy," said the economist, noting that 62% of micro-businesses are engaged in trade.
During the event, while presenting the report, he said that Armenia is also different in that business in our country is not focused on the intention to change the world; entrepreneurs are guided by the requirement to earn money. It is noteworthy that during the survey conducted as part of the study, only women aged 55 to 64 living in villages expressed a desire to change the world in Armenia. , - said Jrbashyan, noting that Armenian entrepreneurs perceive business as a way to solve social problems.
He also emphasized that our business is in a very unenviable position in terms of the use of innovations and digital tools. At best, as the expert noted, entrepreneurs use Facebook and Instagram as these tools, but the world is much larger and wider.
"It is important to work with businesses and ensure technological transfers. Because we have a problem - the technological level of business does not correspond to the competitive sphere today," he said.
There is another interesting phenomenon, the head of "Ameria" highlighted - all over the world, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used to reduce their costs, and only Armenian businesses see this as an opportunity to increase their income.
At the same time, he attached importance to the fact that the involvement of young people in business has increased in Armenia. "A large number of businesses are represented by young people. And I think this "rejuvenation" creates the foundation for the future," Jrbashyan said. In this vein, he noted that 30% of businesses in Armenia are represented by young people aged 18 to 24.
"These studies need to be conducted regularly, they are like a checkup to diagnose and understand the state of the sphere, once every 2-3 years, measure this temperature to understand what to do next," he said.
The GEM Armenia National Report 2024/2025 is the second such study in the country. Armenia first joined the global GEM program in 2019. The study covers more than 100 indicators, including entrepreneurs' motivations, level of readiness for innovation, risk perception, investment climate, impact of digital technologies and other key aspects of the business environment.
The survey was conducted from April to June 2024, in which 37 experts and over 2 thousand respondents aged 18 to 64 from Yerevan and regions (cities and villages) took part. The margin of error of the study is +/- 2.2%.
The national team of the research group is headed by Tigran Jrbashyan. The consulting company provided funding for such a large-scale work.
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor program has been conducted for over 25 years and is considered one of the most authoritative international studies in the field of entrepreneurship. About 200 thousand people and more than 3 thousand experts around the world participate in it annually.
The full report can be found by clicking on the link:
https://ameriaadvisory.am/wpcontent/uploads/2025/06/2024-2025-GEM-National-Report-English.pdf .-0-
