The Orion Summit 2022 technological summit, which focuses on financial topics important for the development of startups, kicked off Wednesday at the Matenadaran in Yerevan (PHOTOS).
Orion Summit 2022 is attended by companies from technology, financial and other sectors, prominent businessmen and founders of internationally recognized startups, investors, consultants and experts. Visitors and guests have the opportunity to listen to speakers from leading international companies, including Adobe, SADA, Embodied, cognaize, Scylla, Grand Thornton, Startup Lithuania, and others.
The keynote speaker of the summit is Mark Chenian, a renowned expert in investment banking and financial advisory.
The event was opened by Emma Arakelyan, founder of Orion Worldwide Innovations, and Diana Arzumanyan, Co-Founder of Orion Worldwide Innovations Armenia. They presented the goals of this summit to the sponsors.
“The Summit will cover trending topics in technology and business, which are essential also for Armenian startups. Orion Summit is turning into a platform for deals. We start with Yerevan, next year it will take place in New York and then in Frankfurt. The goal is to give Armenian startups an opportunity to network and cooperate with the largest global companies,” said Diana Arzumanyan, Co-Founder of Orion Worldwide Innovations Armenia.
Then the Minister of High-Tech Industry of Armenia, Robert Khachatryan, delivered opening remarks. He thanked the organizers for the event and welcomed all the participants of Orion.
"Holding such events is of key importance for the development and establishment of technology companies as well as the sector. Well-known representatives of technology and business will speak on one platform today to discuss current topics, share their experience and success stories. This is also a good opportunity for us to record developments and successes in the sector. We should not avoid talking about problems either. Moreover, bringing them up and discussing them, developing solutions to problems allows us not to repeat mistakes, to avoid making mistakes. The development of the startup ecosystem is on the agenda of our ministry, and we are working consistently for the establishment and progress of the startups. The experience of companies that have paved their way to success and achieved success can be a great incentive and impetus for startups taking their first steps.
“Armenia has a great technological potential, and that potential is partly gathered here. I am convinced that the results of this summit will not take long. I wish all of us new success, and I am confident that the event will be effective and will help us find new ways of progress together," said the minister.
In her turn, Emma Arakelyan, founder of Orion Worldwide Innovations, noted that it is very important that the person in charge of Armenia’s high-tech sector supports such an event.
"All we are trying to do is founding technological innovation because we live in a digital age. What we are doing is digital; even the name of our new initiative is ‘Digital Julfa,’" she said.
The summit will last one full day, and there will be five panel discussions.
One of the directions of the Summit is to present ecosystem solutions and encourage their implementation in Armenian companies. Ecosystem solutions enable businesses and individuals, regardless of industry, to access a wider range of services.
Orion Summit 2022 will bring together on one platform the founders of the upcoming unicorn companies, who will present their success stories and motivate young startup founders. The BAJ Accelerator program will support the journey of 10 Armenian unicorn companies in 5-6 years.
For the first time, Orion Summit will present an initiative to consolidate the Armenian startup ecosystem through mergers and acquisitions. Possible incentives for the rapid growth of startups will also be discussed.
One of the main topics of the summit is the promotion of the growth of startups, the welfare of the society, and the "creation" of future millionaires, and the ESOP-employee share programs. They are one of the best solutions to encourage, inspire, and reward employees. Successful technology startups, at an early stage of their development, share with employees—nurturing and accelerating their growth and development rates.
ESOP, as a tool, can play a key role in retaining and encouraging talent in Armenia. Employees, being in Armenia, can have shares of the "parent" company or their options, later becoming millionaires as a result of the company's achievements and acquisitions (M&A) or initial public offering (IPO).
During the summit, it is planned to announce the Digital Julfa Network—an initiative uniting the Pan-Armenian commercial, intellectual, technological, and cultural forces. The goal is to re-establish a strong network of economic and intellectual positioning of Armenia and the Armenians on a global scale. A strong 300+-year-old network of Armenian merchants from New Julfa traded from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. Digital Julfa is its evolution at the global level, the main driving force of which is innovation.
The BAJ Accelerator portfolio companies will share their rapid growth strategy and market penetration.
Davit Sargsyan, Legal Affairs Director of Ameriabank, Armenia's leading financial and technological institution, will speak at the discussion. Ameria is one of the first to introduce the ESOP program in Armenia—back in 2016. Davit Sargsyan will present the successful experience of the company. Vahe Andonians, the founder of cognaize, Ashot Tonoyan, the head of Service Titan Armenia, and the representatives of BDO-Armenia will take part in the discussion.
The event will feature the graduation ceremony and partners awards ceremony of the BAJ Unicorn Academy.
And at the end, Joel A. Martin will deliver musical performances, presenting the jazz arrangements of Komitas' works. The works of contemporary Armenian artists will also be exhibited.
Orion (Orion Worldwide Innovations) is a hub for the growth of startups and the development of an interconnected ecosystem, which offers a full range of services. Orion creates opportunities for companies subject to investment to enter the United States, improves their customer acquisition strategies, helps them stay competitive, and supports their innovations. Orion was founded in 2017 in the USA. The company has offices in New York and Yerevan, cooperates with companies and investor networks operating in various countries.
Armenian analytical news agency NEWS.am is the information sponsor of Orion Summit 2022.
