Innovative entrepreneurship is being developed in country

By Azernews

By Leman Mammadova

Important measures are being taken in Azerbaijan to develop an innovation-driven economy that will further increase the country's attractiveness for local and foreign investors.

This was stated by Deputy Economy Minister Sahib Mammadov at the conference dedicated to the completion of the “Smart Bridge” joint training project implemented between the Entrepreneurship Development Fund under the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), on September 27, in Baku.

Mammadov noted that the Entrepreneurship Development Fund expands the range of intellectual services provided to business entrepreneurs to develop entrepreneurship. In addition to providing mentorship services to entrepreneurs relevant to modern market requirements, projects are also being implemented to attract business entrepreneurs, he added.

He stressed that one of these activities is the Smart Bridge project which has been implemented together with South Korea.

The Smart Bridge project seeks promotion of innovative entrepreneurship based on technology transfer and commercialization of science through project-based training as well as the development of an innovative ecosystem in Azerbaijan. It is the first winner of the CIAT (Capacity Improvement and Advancement for Tomorrow) grant program in Azerbaijan.

Training under the project lasted from August 30 to September 14, 2019 in the building of Entrepreneurship Development Fund. The university staff and representatives of the business sector participated in the training. In total, 60 participants have been trained within the Smart Bridge project.

“New global challenges have arisen in the world today, and in order to meet them, Azerbaijan, as part of the global economy, is taking various measures to create a favorable innovation ecosystem,” underlined Mammadov.

In his words, significant growth has been observed in the non-oil sector over the past eight months, which is an extremely important indicator of economic development in the oil-producing country.

“The amount of investments in Azerbaijan exceeds $260 billion, half of which accounts for foreign investors,” he added.

He stressed that the development of innovative entrepreneurship based on technology transfer and commercialization is one of the most actual in the world, including in Azerbaijan. “Therefore, innovative entrepreneurship, widely spread in the global economy, is one of the most important areas of economic reforms in the country.”

KOICA Country Director Park Kumok noted that the process of building an innovation-driven economy in Azerbaijan is of particular interest to the South Korea.

Speaking about the benefits of implementing joint projects, she said that training participants will apply Korean experience in Azerbaijan's innovation ecosystem. “To date, KOICA has provided $60 million in grant assistance to Azerbaijan, covering water management, public administration, rural development and ICT.”

Kumok expressed readiness to continue implementation of future joint projects on the development of investment sector in Azerbaijan's economy.

She pointed to the framework agreement on grant assistance signed between the governments of Azerbaijan and South Korea, envisaging cooperation in many areas.

Kumok stressed that under the agreement, up to $10 million will be allocated over the three years for water management, public administration, rural development, ICT and innovative development.

In general, KOICA aims to maximize the effectiveness of South Korea's grant aid programs for developing countries by implementing the government's grant aid and technical cooperation programs. The assistance of KOICA to Azerbaijan started in 1994, and the KOICA Office in Azerbaijan was established in 2009. 

Since the beginning of cooperation, 11 grant projects have been successfully completed with total grant aid worth $49.28 million, and currently, two projects are being implemented.

Starting from 1994, over 700 Azerbaijani officials and government employees participated in the KOICA capacity building training programs aiming at sharing South Korea's development experience and technology transfer.