At a meeting on February 11, chaired by President Ilham Aliyev and dedicated to the unified action plan “Azerbaijan’s New Digital Architecture,” the Minister of Digital Development and Transport drew attention to the current shortcomings in the development of the startup ecosystem.
The Minister said that currently there are no sufficient and systematic mechanisms for financing startups in the country and a legal framework should be formed in this area.
“Dear Mr. President, there are quite a few issues that we need to pay attention to here. I would just like to bring a few to your attention. Today, we do not have financial mechanisms that provide financing for startups. Be it venture capital, crowdfunding, etc. There is already a draft law on this, and the action plan also provides for the adoption of this draft law in the next few months. If it is adopted, there are actually three funds worth a total of 12 million manats these days, which do not reflect the potential of our market. That is, 12 million manats are invested by angel investors. 12 million are investments that will also be made in startups at various levels, which is not enough for the development of the market. If such a mechanism exists, I am sure that by attracting both local investors and funds from abroad, we will give a sufficient impetus to the development of the market.”
The Minister's special emphasis on the issue of support for expanding investment opportunities in his report to the President strengthens expectations that the existing gaps in financing startups will be eliminated in the near future. This approach shows that the formation of the necessary financial instruments for the development of the digital economy is in the focus of attention at the state level and that concrete steps are planned to be taken towards the creation of appropriate mechanisms.
