Women-led businesses may benefit from the EU4Business Women in Business Advisory Programme implemented by the EBRD to access know-how to transform their businesses. This covers a wide range of topics, from the technical knowledge to build a website, for example, or to introduce a quality management system that meets ISO standards, improve energy efficiency or improve Human Resources management. These usually involve working with qualified local consultants with a portion of the net costs reimbursed.
The EU4Business Eastern Partnership Trade Helpdesk will facilitate you in identifying trade obstacles and better understanding regulatory and procedural issues in trading goods and services. Soon, this one-stop-shop online platform will be available that will offer access to trade information (tariffs, non-tariff measures, taxes, trade statistics and procedures).
Equity and quasi-equity financing is available for Armenian SMEs to diversify the financing solutions in the country by getting technical advice to improve corporate governance in local SMEs and building local private equity investment management capacity.
If you are an SME operating in tourism sector, or a high-tech and innovative entrepreneur, especially operating in the regions of Armenia, you may benefit from consultancy services to improve management, international knowledge exchanges and networks.
Technical advice with grant opportunity is foreseen by the project to support ideas for tourism development in the Syunik province of Armenia. The grants are aimed at developing new tourism products, including a new 300 km hiking trail from Goris to Kapan.
The business center created in the framework of the EU project “EU for Sevan: SME platform for Business Development and Innovation”, provides business support services for aspiring entrepreneurs, such as professional development workshops, conferences, networking and coaching events for targeted groups, prominent business, government and academic speakers’ lecturing events, and individual and group consultations. It also offers modern equipment and co-working spaces.
The EU4Business: Connecting Companies project supports SMEs with exports to EU countries. You can apply for training, coaching and even matchmaking with businesses in the EU.
SMEs in tourism sector can benefit from new partnerships built between the local community members, local authorities, the State Tourism Committee, tourism operators as well as other local and international stakeholders.
Targeted assistance to local BSOs in Armenia aims at supporting companies to access the EU market, through targeted capacity-building, advisory services and market access activities. The project assists BSOs to meet the needs of SMEs in the selected global value chains; conducts training on the key areas for improvement; contributes to information-knowledge sharing platforms and facilitate technical and commercial collaboration linkages with professional institutions and sector organisations from the target markets.
EEN supports SMEs in identifying potential business partners and establishing new business cooperation, disseminating business and technological profiles of Armenian businesses in foreign countries. It also organizes business cooperation events and meetings with potential partners, as well as provides information to foreign entrepreneurs on business environment of Armenia, competitive sectors, internal legislation, export and import procedures.
EBA supports the business community in Armenia and facilitates the integration and cooperation between Armenia and the European Union. The EBA is periodically organizing conferences, seminars business meetings, networking events for local and EU businesses operating in Armenia. Based on companies’ need assessment EBA is making proposals to the government on legislation issues that can potentially improve business climate in Armenia. EBA is advocating the interests of EU and local organizations that have impediments and meet some difficulties in legal, tax, customs or any other sphere of activity.
The EU-supported platform for investors to meet and cooperate with their peers, and connect them with promising startups and entrepreneurs. It regularly organizes workshops for investors to collaborate with their peers and learn from experienced investors from around the world. BANA members get support and access to a range of services to ease the process of investment and portfolio management.
Impact Hub Yerevan is a social innovation space and community with a mission to support social impact projects and enterprises which propel the positive development of Armenia. The EU-supported Impact Hub Yerevan provides entrepreneurs and innovators with networking opportunities, resources, educational programs and events.
The goal of the EU-supported initiative is to provide the cutting-edge education to STEM university students & young professionals in order to prepare them for the labour market.
TUMO Labs has launched seven educational projects in 2020 in collaboration with industry players, where students from various universities work together with mentors and industry experts on specific STEM-industry problem statements on multiple topics, including AI, IoT, Agri-Tech, 3D Modeling and Cloud Security. In total, nearly 100 students from different universities joined the program.
Yerevan programming school was launched in September 2020. It equips students with programming skills through an applied three-year training program. This program boasts a highly successful employability rate of over 95% of all successful participants.
The initiative supports Mayors and municipalities to become active facilitators for economic growth and job creation at the local level by helping to set business support centers or councils. SME development, training and staff exchange opportunities provided at these centers support enterprises to unleash local economic potential.
A new business incubator (BI) opened in the Armenian capital Yerevan within the framework of the “Increased Resilience of Syrian Armenians and Host Population” (IRIS) project and funded by the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis (MADAD Fund), the Austrian Development Cooperation and the Austrian Red Cross enhances the economic integration of Syrian Armenians and the host population through raising the competitiveness of the local economy by stimulating innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in Armenia. The BI provides a unique full cycle of business support services including training, coaching, mentoring and access to finance with grants and loans, as well as a co-working area located in central Yerevan.
Focused on building game-changing entrepreneurship and startup education programs, the EU-supported Academy helps the Armenian tech companies to expand to the international markets. Costumer development tracking knowledge and instruments, mentoring and assisting will support SMEs to break the market entry obstacles through a partnership with leading funding, acceleration and advisory institutions in Europe, United States, Middle East and Africa. The initiative is implemented under the EU project “Innovative Tourism and Technology Development for Armenia”.