At the Orion Summit 2022, we will have discussions on the topic of "Acquisitions and Mergers," introduce the five fastest growing startups in Armenia, and conclude the panels with the Digital Julfa program whose founder is Mark Chenian, who has arrived in Armenia especially to present this program. Diana Arzumanyan, Director and Co-founder of Orion Worldwide Innovations Armenia, told this to Armenian News-NEWS.am on Wednesday—and within the framework of the aforesaid summit (PHOTOS).
"The task of this program is to bring back—through digitalization—our former positions in the IT sector, in accordance with modern requirements—involving art, music. Komitas' performances will be presented in jazz performance," she said.
When asked how much investment is envisioned this year, taking into account that last time that amount was $27 million, Arzumanyan said. "The investment of money has already started this year, and we hope to double the number by the end of the year. We are working toward $50 million. Our vision is to have ten unicorns in the next five years, which will increase the country's GDP. The five companies being presented today are not being presented as unicorns. It's just that their growth rates are very fast, they are candidates for the future. And in about a month we will introduce the fourth unicorn.
The goal is to present the main driving force of the country's economy through technology companies. Citizens of the country can become shareholders of large companies, which will lead to their prosperity and the country’s growth."
In her turn, Emma Arakelyan, Founding Director of Orion Worldwide Innovations, noted that very important topics will be presented at the Orion Summit 2022.
"We have companies that will present their extraordinary growth and success in the global market. We will also present ‘Let’s Consolidate the Armenian Startup Ecosystem,’ which will assist in the rapid development of Armenia's economy and take it to the world market.
The next topic we are happily presenting is the beginning of a very important movement called Digital Julfa. This means that we [i.e., Armenians] are restoring the great power we had 300 years ago—from Amsterdam to Manila. We have interesting speakers.
All these events are just the beginning. We will continue to create global partnerships with reputable companies of various countries.
We are seeking and finding fast growing companies, especially paying attention to Armenian companies. We show companies that it is possible to have great growth and development even in the local market in Armenia," she said.
According to Arakelyan, the goal of this whole movement is to change the mindset and to correctly present the capabilities of Armenia.
"We need to change the mindset a little bit so that they are better prepared to enter the world arena and have more courage, knowing that Armenian innovation is at a very high level—and various programs have shown that. For eight years now, Armenia has a quite huge place at the level of our startups.
We are seeking especially Armenian startups in Armenia and other countries, and after selecting the best ones, we present such programs. We also introduce them at various competitions in New York, Europe. And one of the great successes is that in just 15 months we have been able to raise 27 million [dollars of] foreign funds for three Armenian companies; this means we can represent value and have an impact on innovation.”
