Portal for startups to be opened
By Rashid Shirinov
Azerbaijan’s State Fund for Development of Information Technologies (SFDIT) will allocate a grant in the amount of 15,000 manats ($9,100) to create a portal for startup projects.
The creation of the portal is consistent with the principles of the State Program on Implementation of the National Strategy for Development of Information Society in 2016-2020, the Organizing Committee reported.
The website, which is expected to be launched in the first half of 2017, will become an important element in the development of the startups in the country and will support the development of innovative business.
The portal will function both in Azerbaijani and English languages, and will include a single platform for registration of the startups. Every new project will be able to create its own profile, to form teams and find investors.
Moreover, experts from various fields will be able to create their online resume for employment in IT projects. The portal will also have “Investors” and “Services for startups sections,” and it will cover activities of local innovative business projects.
The State Fund for Development of Information Technologies was established upon the presidential decree dated March15, 2012. It operates under the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan.
The main objectives of the Fund are conducting of the state policy on development and support of small enterprises in scientific-technical sphere, providing them with direct financial assistance, training, which in turn will contribute to the creation of new jobs in the country.
Currently, the Fund conducts competition on funding local IT projects. The funding includes a number of grants from 10,000 up to 300,000 manats ($6,200-187,000).
Overall, the sector of information technologies has been intensively developed in Azerbaijan over the past years. Creation and developing of the e-Government system, expanding the broadband internet services, launch of the telecommunication and low-orbit satellites, and many other are the evidence of Azerbaijan’s success in this sphere.
The income to be obtained in the IT sector in Azerbaijan is expected to hit $9 billion by 2020.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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