Galaxy Group of Companies and Startup Armenia Foundation will channel joint efforts into the implementation of innovation projects and support to startups. The enrollment of Galaxy Group of Companies in a partnership format in Sevan Startup Summit 2019, held at the beginning of the month, was reinforced with a memorandum of coopeation signed by the parties. The cooperation established the bilateral commitment of the parties to invest continuous efforts in introducing innovation ecosystem in Armenia with the support of the startup community. The cooperation is grounded on the Innovation and Technology Park project announced by Galaxy Group of Companies earlier this year.
“To create an innovation ecosystem, it should first and foremost be designed with the involvement and direct participation of its immediate beneficiaries. The startup community is one of the most significant clusters of our project, while the Sevan Startup Summit is that unique spot where brilliant ideas and projects are gathered and exchanged. By uniting our efforts, not only can we contribute to the creation of that exceptional environment, but also carry out the implementation process in innovative ways”, the co-founder of Galaxy Group of Companies and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ucom Gourgen Khachatryan said.
Implemented jointly by Galaxy Group of Companies and its partners, the Innovation and Technology Park project aims at the creation of the first multi-industry Ecosystem in the region, where information technologies meet with the pivotal branches of the state economy to define the innovation modes of the next generation of goods and services, portraying Armenia and its innovative outlooks in the world.
“Our mission is the enhancement of the startup ecosystem in Armenia, and we have an ingrained belief that the Innovation Park initiative is among the important projects we need to be involved in. This project really resonates perfectly with our mission and we are delighted to support its implementation”, the founder of the Startup Armenia Foundation and the Sevan Startup Summit Hakob Hakobyan said.
The Sevan Startup Summit brings together over 1000 starting entrepreneurs, investors and other representatives of the IT Ecosystem, creating an informal environment for establishing networks of education and business, as well as investment business cooperations. In the framework of the Summit, all participants have opportunities to attend lectures and discussions with the successful figures of the business world, who share their experiences and help to explore the keys to rapid development of businesses and best pathways to be exposed to international markets. For this purpose, over 100 mentors and successful entrepreneurs, Venture and Angel investors have been invited to Armenia by the organizers of the summit. Galaxy Group of Companies was represented at the Sevan Startup Summit discussion forum on Innovation Ecosystems by Hayk Lorikyan, the Deputy CEO of Business Development at Galaxy Group of Companies.
“We have a conviction that the key to Armenia’s successes lies in cooperation. We have an array of examples of exciting and innovative projects in Armenia. In Galaxy, too, we have fabulous examples of cooperation with leading companies of the world. It’s important to direct joint efforts to the creation of a cooperative ecosystem, where its constituents will keep on with their businesses, while the added value created by everyone together will appear to have a much larger scale”, Hayk Lorikyan underscored during the event of signing the memorandum of cooperation.
“We have brilliant young people with brilliant ideas at the Summit and their practical experience hand in hand with businesses will become the significant basis of multiplying the factor of success”, Arsen Harutyunyan, the Executive Director of Startup Armenia Foundation said.
The Sevan Startup Summit was first held in 2016 and to this day more than 3000 businessmen and startup founders have participated in it. The Summit took place 3 times in 2018 – in the United Arab Emirates, India and Armenia. The investment agreements reached through the Summits have amounted to 1.5 million USD.
Founded in Armenia in 1999, Galaxy Group of Companies has established and sustained over 15 companies in Armenia, Georgia and Belarus throughout the 20 years of its history. The success behind all companies has been in enhancing industry-wise innovation, continuous education and development. Ucom, the largest player in the telecommunication industry, and IUnetworks, a leading company in the domain of IT are among these companies. Presently, the number of Galaxy Group of Companies goes beyond 3000 and the social responsibility projects in the fields of education, innovation and social enhancement comprise 5% of the operational activity of the company.
