News
Show news feed

Attracting investments for startups and helping them achieve unicorn status, creating an intriguing and promising Digital Julfa Network, the pros and cons of Employee Stock Ownership Programs (ESOP) and Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) - all these topics were discussed at the Orion Summit 2022 held in Yerevan.

Discussing these topics, of course, is not an end in itself. The organizers and participants of the summit hope not to just talk about interesting topics and go home, but to find realistic ways to help Armenia and its economy.

Founders of companies, investors, consultants, specialists with international recognition in the spheres of technologies, finance and business arrived in Yerevan to take part in the summit. Among them were the experts of world-leading companies such as Adobe, SADA, Embodied, cognaize, Scylla, Grand Thornton, Startup Lithuania and others.

Mark Chenian, a well-known specialist in the field of financial advisory for investment banks, board member of the Union of Armenian Partners also attended the summit. He has more than 50 years of experience in the field of investment banking and specializes in asset management.

Mission: To bring investments to $50 million

The main goal of Orion World Wide Innovations is to accelerate the exponential growth of countries and their economies, improve their ecosystems and offer advanced methods of digital transformation. Supporting and assisting startups at all levels plays a major role in achieving these goals. That is why startups and everything that can be associated with them was also the focus of Orion Summit 2022.

According to Diana Arzumanyan, Head and Co-Founder of Orion Armenia Foundation, the foundation has been working with venture capitalists, "business angels," family offices and business accelerators for two years to find startup funding.

"We want to see Armenia as a startup-oriented country. Our goal is to become a base for startups to enter the global market, and to do that we have to work with them every day. We cooperate with BAJAccelerator, a world-class accelerator, which has worked with more than 40 startups from Armenia in the last two years. We closely cooperate with embassies, and present Armenian novelties to them. Last year we managed to attract $27mln, which I am sure will have a long-term impact on the Armenian economy, as in this case we will be able to double or triple Armenian GDP," Diana Arzumanyan said.
 

According to her, this year investments have already started, and by the end of the year, experts hope to double the previous figures and bring them to 50 million dollars.

Arzumanyan also hopes to have at least ten "unicorns" in Armenia in the next five years (companies which have managed to quickly adapt to the realities of the digital economy and received a market value of over USD 1 billion), which will increase Armenia's GDP.

Digital Julfa

The Digital Julfa Network is an important innovation announced during Orion Summit 2022. It aims to unite Armenian intellectual, technological, commercial, and cultural forces and to recreate a powerful network of economic and intellectual positioning of Armenia and Armenians on a global scale.

Founder of Orion Worldwide Innovations Emma Arakelyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am that in the 17th century, a network of Armenian merchants from New Julfa traded from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. These people managed to create a powerful network in the fields of economy, law, trade and innovations and this network existed for 300 years. Now the plan is not just to restore the heritage of our ancestors, but to improve and modernize it in accordance with the requirements of the 21st century.

Four centuries ago, according to the specialist, people did not have today's communications and technological development, but today we have many new opportunities that people could not even dream of before: in just a few minutes we can sign big contracts and agreements, work with new products, organize import and export, make bank transactions without leaving home. That is why Arakelyan is confident that in the 21st century it is possible not only to restore the legacy of New Julfa, but also to improve it and achieve even greater results.

According to Arakelyan, all sectors of the Armenian economy should be involved in the project. Our startups, according to her, should also be involved in the DigitalJulfaNetwork, as the network will give them more opportunities. All science and technology companies should also be involved in the network, as should university professors.

"All of this started in Armenia, but it should not be limited to Armenia. Mark Chenian, who is pursuing the development and positioning of Armenia's economy, has created a large group of 156 scientists who will hold a summit on Lazarus Island, which was one of the islands of Julfa. This is an extension of the network. Another important thing is that we are cooperating with Armenian venture capital companies, banking companies and the Central Bank. There are various issues that all companies can solve together to bring wealth and prosperity to the country," said Emma Arakelyan.

ESOP: Making Employees Your Partners

ESOP employee equity programs are one of the central themes of Orion Summit 2022. The concept of employee equity in companies is considered one of the best solutions for encouraging, inspiring and rewarding employees.

According to summit speakers, the ESOP as a tool can play a key role in retaining and encouraging talent in Armenia. If an employee can own shares or options in a company and become a millionaire in the future as a result of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) or a public offering (IPO), he is unlikely to decide to leave to earn money in other countries.

Ameriabank was one of the first in Armenia to introduce an employee shareholding program, back in 2016. Davit Sargsyan, Legal Advisory Services Director of Ameriabank, told NEWS.am that it is a great motivation for an employee to own company shares. Moreover, he gets an opportunity to participate in the decisions concerning the present and future of the company. If the right approach is taken, all this can have a favorable effect on the work of the company employees, as well as on the prospects and the future of the company itself.

There are still few companies in Armenia that are willing to make their employees shareholders. Many prefer the so-called "family" business management. However, those who have already embarked on the ESOP path are sure that it has many advantages and far-reaching prospects.

M&A: Mergers and Acquisitions

Many startups and other companies at some point face a difficult decision: which path to pursue? Giving company shares to employees (ESOP) or even putting those shares on the market (IPO) are quite common ways, especially in developed countries. But Armenian companies become participants of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) more often.

A good example of M&As is the acquisition of Workfront by the giant Adobe. Arsen Babayan, the Technical Director of Adobe-Armenia, told Armenian News-NEWS.am that it is very important that the companies, which participate in the processes of consolidation of business through M&A, have similar cultural values. Correct integration of the acquired company is one of the most important keys to success.

SADA also recently acquired an up-and-coming Indian company. SADA Chief Financial Officer Lusine Yeghiazaryan spoke about this experience during the summit - as well as in an interview for NEWS.am.

A well-known jazzman and his interpretation of Komitas

It would seem that there could not be a connection between the musician and the technological summit. As it turns out, there is indeed one: as Emma Arakelyan mentioned, the arts and the Orion Summit have the same goal - to promote Armenia and its success.

That is why the organizers of the summit did not skip art: the famous jazzman Joel A. Martin performed the compositions of Komitas in jazz interpretation. Moreover the guests had an opportunity to admire paintings and other works of modern Armenian artists as well as to get familiar with the local cuisine and wines.

Emma Arakelyan told NEWS.am that she met Joel A. Martin in the spring of 2019, at one of his concerts.

"I ask a lot of people this question, and I asked him about it, too: "Do you play any Armenian music?" He said he hadn't yet, but would love to learn about Armenian music. I sent him the records of Komitas and he liked them very much. Some time later, we met again at a dinner in New York where a singer was invited to sing songs by Komitas. Joel listened to her and said he wanted to study Komitas and his music more deeply. And very soon he already started working on arrangements."

In the fall of 2019, the musician came to Armenia for the first time and visited WCIT. After the event, he decided to write a new album. The covid pandemic hampered his plans a bit, but in 2021 the jazz album Komitas-Passion of Fire was ready. As Emma Arakelyan noted, the musician has since performed on all well-known radio stations, and has already given more than 30 concerts  in New York, presenting the Armenian Komitas and his interpretation of his melodies to audiences.

In Armenia, the musician performed these works for the first time at the Orion Summit. He also plans to play at the Chamber Music House and several jazz clubs.

The Armenian people should get rich and live well

The aim of Orion Summit-2022, as Emma Arakelyan noted, is to make Armenia a great, rich and prosperous country. And, of course, to understand how exactly that can be achieved.

"Working hard, having good startups, having a good university, even good government programs are all very good, of course, but that will not get us to the future we are striving for, which is to make Armenia a rich, prosperous country. Armenia should become a rich country, the Armenian people should become rich and live in prosperity and well-being. These are goals for all Armenians, all Armenians everywhere. Therefore, we have to find local, regional and international partners in order to realize our goals more effectively," the Founder of Orion Worldwide Innovations said.

In her opinion, recent events and especially the 44-day war in Artsakh showed that lobbying and advocacy for the interests of the country and Armenians is still a weak point, and we need to work on that as well.

"We have to change the position of our country in the world, and all our programs pursue that goal," said Emma Arakelyan.

!
This text available in   Հայերեն and Русский
Print
Read more:
All