The European Union is very active in supporting the development of new businesses, particularly among women and particularly in the regions of Armenia, so don’t think that you need to be in Yerevan, to have a higher education or an established business in order to access EU support.
Here are some examples:
Impact Hub Yerevan supports social impact projects and enterprises, providing entrepreneurs and innovators with networking opportunities, resources, educational programmes and events. Since opening its doors in 2016, the Impact Hub, which is supported by the EU, has designed and implemented more than 20 programmes, hosted over 400 educational workshops and events, and now hosts over 220 members with over 100 projects/organisations representing every sector in Armenia. Check out the available programmes here.
In 2022, the Impact Hub Syunik was established to provide support for entrepreneurial opportunities in Syunik, by re-skilling vulnerable and displaced people, and addressing their needs. Many of their available programmes focus on women.
The latest addition to the Impact Hub family is the Impact Hub Gyumri. Find out more here.
You can follow the Impact Hub Facebook page for latest news and opportunities across the country.
The EU4Impact project supports returning Armenian migrants and displaced people with business training courses aimed at raising awareness of investment opportunities and equipping them with practical knowledge and skills on how to develop a business. Follow their Facebook page to find out how they can help.
If you have an innovative tech idea, the Catalyst Foundation runs a series of programmes, supported by the EU, aimed at nurturing the start-up ecosystem with relevant skills and business capacities.
The Mayors for Economic Growth (M4EG) programme supports local authorities in developing economic growth and job creation. It is currently funding three pilot projects in the municipalities of Kapan, Dilijan and Ijevan:
Kapan: a TUMO Centre for Creative Technologies offers free educational programmes specialising in digital and creative technology for children aged 12-18 while TUMO Labs will provide free adult educational services in self-learning and business incubation.
Dilijan: an abandoned Soviet-era sewing factory is being transformed into a modern cluster co-working space for enterprises and individuals in partnership with Dilijan Municipality, IDeA foundation, Tourism and Urbanism Foundation and Dilijan Community Center. The new Dilijan factory space will support entrepreneurs in developing their business ideas, small enterprises seeking support with business administration, and the local population, in particular the unemployed, with development and orientation programmes.
Ijevan: the ‘InnoIjevan’ platform has been set up hosting new Armath Engineering Laboratories, a ‘Real School’ offering professional opportunities through trainings, work-based learning, and the development of hard and soft skills, and a co-working space for businesses and individuals in partnership with the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises-UATE and COWO.
Under a previous phase of the M4EG programme, Sevan was selected to run a pioneer project, which included setting up the Sevan Business Centre, which provides ready-to-go solutions and support to women entrepreneurs, especially at the critical early stages to help them build strong, sustainable businesses, with support to develop detailed business plans, as well as different educational and networking events.
If you are in the Shirak region, the LEAD4Shirak projects supports community-based initiatives that contribute to women’s empowerment and improve employment in the rural economy. Follow their Facebook page for grant and training opportunities. In the Lori and Tavush regions, the EU-LEAD4Lori and Tavush Regions project supports sustainable local development, including through developing entrepreneurial skills, supporting local business ideas and promoting employment. Find out what they are doing and how you can take part by following the project’s Facebook page.
In addition, the EU4Youth programme is launching a series of projects aimed at enhancing youth employment and entrepreneurship, including mentoring, training programmes and apprenticeships. Under the previous wave of EU4Youth projects, thousands of young women were able to develop new skills and more than 50 new businesses were launched with the support of the programme, while three rural innovation knowledge hubs were set up in Shirak, Lori and Tavush regions, which still provide internet access, training and skills development for young people. Follow the EU4Youth page for upcoming opportunities.
If you are looking to develop your business, funding (and training) is available through a number of programmes under the EU4Business initiative, which supports private sector development across Armenia.
Specifically, the EBRD’s Women in Business programme offers loans, training and advisory services that are specifically tailored to women-led businesses. The programme works with local partners ACBA Credit Agricole, Ameria Bank, Araratbank, Armeconbank and Converse Bank to offer dedicated financing to help women entrepreneurs, with products that specifically address the needs of women-led SMEs. Visit their website or stop by your local branch for more information. You can also meet representatives of the banks in person at the EBRD’s Women in Business seminars.
The programme also offers a personalised online tool – the Business Lens – to assess your business and see what kind of support you can access.
In addition to Women in Business, small loans are available through the European Fund for South East Europe (EFSE) – average loan size €9,000 – not just to SMEs but also to micro-businesses (less than 10 employees) in sectors such as agriculture, industry, trade and services, as well as through the Green for Growth programme.
Visit the EU4Business website for information about all the loans and grants available to small businesses in Armenia.
Subsidised consultancy services are also available from the Advice for Small Businesses programme, in areas including strategy, marketing, operations, quality management, energy efficiency, financial management and more. Visit the EBRD website to find out how to apply and visit their Facebook page to see examples of the many women and small businesses who have benefited, all over Armenia.
You can also apply to the VIA Fund, an impact investment fund for social enterprises in Armenia, operated and managed by Impact Hub Yerevan. The fund was developed as a part of the EU-funded, “Collaborate For Impact” project, which aims to develop social entrepreneurship and social investment in the Eastern Partnership countries. VIA Fund aims to strengthen and nurture social enterprises that deliver tangible social impact results, with a mixture of both capital and non-financial support, including an acceleration programme and intensive mentoring. Click here for latest news and opportunities.
There are more than you can imagine!
Of the 6,818 SMEs supported in Armenia under the EU4Business initiative in 2022, 41% were women-owned. Support to SMEs led to total extra income generated of €176 million, 9,311 new jobs, 36% growth in turnover, and 108% increase in exports.
More than 1,000 women have received face-to-face training in Women in Business workshops, and 589 business consulting projects were supported. Impressively, more than half (56%) of women-led SMEs reported increased employment one year after the mentoring programmes concluded, resulting in a net job creation of 2,666. Around 78% of these SMEs reported increased turnover.
For example:
Sofya Khachatryan, Elina Melikyan, and Anahit Hakobyan developed a comprehensive digital marketing strategy with the help of Women in Business for their small business making Armenian language board games. “We now have the tools acquired through the project at our disposal, and we have many exciting plans ahead,” say the founders of the company.
Lusine Arakelyan, a single mother of two children, turned her sewing hobby into a business with support from EU4Youth. She took part in entrepreneurship trainings provided by the project and won a €4,000 business grant, with which she improved her sewing workshop, bought the necessary equipment, and expanded her business.
Zoya Safaryan was just 19 when she benefited from the Mayors for Economic Growth project in Sevan: “I heard there was an innovative business centre in Sevan which helps young people who have an idea but don’t know where to start and what to do,” says Zoya. She went along, learned how to develop a business plan and now plans to open a marketing centre in her hometown.
Maria Aloyan and Liana Hakobyan are two of the co-founders of Breedge, an online cooperation platform for employers and students. They completed a three-month course at the Armenian Startup Academy, and won a grant to implement their idea from EU4Business.
Inga Manukyan received coaching and practical support for her weaving company from the Women in Business programme, leading to a 25% growth in turnover and a 20% increase in sales – now the company exports its clothes to the EU and the United States.
Set up with EU support, the EU TUMO Convergence Centre for Engineering and Applied Science is a mixed-use campus that brings higher education and industry together, linking students, researchers, and professionals to each other and with their global peers while fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. The centre includes teaching and training facilities, such as TUMO Labs and 42 Yerevan programing school.
TUMO has hubs in Yerevan, Dilijan, Gyumri and Stepanakert, with 5 TUMO boxes offering the TUMO curriculum in Gavar, Berd, Vayk, Sevan, Kapan and Martakert. Click here for full details of a TUMO Centre near you.
For young women under the age of 30, the EU offers exciting opportunities under its Erasmus + youth programmes. You can join the thousands of young Armenians who have already learned new skills and developed valuable experience by participating in youth projects or volunteering for work abroad under the European Solidarity Corps.
And if you are in higher education, Erasmus + offers student exchanges and post-graduate programmes in Europe. Find out more about all the opportunities and how to apply.
Visit the EU Delegation website, EBRD’s Women in Business website for information on available support and contacts of partner banks, as well as the EBRD website for information and contacts on business advisory support. Also check out additional training and funding opportunities available under EU4Business in Armenia. The website includes comprehensive details of loan and grant opportunities and business development services.
You can also visit the VIA Fund for social enterprises, as well as the Business Support Centre, which is involved in a number of EU-funded projects, as is the SME Development National Centre (SME DNC).
For education and youth opportunities, contact the national Erasmus + office in Armenia.
And don’t forget to follow the EU Delegation to Armenia on Facebook for updates and new opportunities.
