Azerbaijan to boost export of creative products via e-platforms [PHOTO]

10 October 2019 17:13 (UTC+04:00)

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By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Azexport.az portal seeks to increase the export of Azerbaijan’s creative products to international markets through international e-commerce platforms.

"To this end, Azexport Portal offers a proven model and available capabilities to promote creative products in foreign markets. As we know, we have already been successful in exporting other industrial and agricultural products, and we would like to support the promotion of Azerbaijani products to foreign markets in the creative field. To do this, we will partner with etsy.com, kickstarter.com, amazon kindle, online portals and Sotheby's auction house specializing in this area," head of Azexport Portal Zaur Kardashov said during the presentation titled "Creative Azerbaijan: Export Potential through Creative Portal Azexport” held in Baku on October 10.

The presentation was organized by the Center for Economic Reforms Analysis and Communication of Azerbaijan jointly with the Ministry of Culture.

Azexport.az has been successful in selling e-books on the Amazon platform in 2019. In general, Azexport and Amazon portals have sold over 300 copies within three months of an academic book by Professor Urkhan Development” an academic book by Professor Urkhan Alakbarov

Vusal Gasimli, Executive Director of the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication spoke about the importance of developing Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) in Azerbaijan.

"CCIs in Azerbaijan are traditionally available in various forms. It includes both ancient art forms and deep musical traditions, as well as literature, film, painting, photography and other areas. As the people of Azerbaijan are creative, CCI has always played a central role in public life," Gasimli stressed.

"It is best to develop the Creative Industry Development Strategy to ensure long-term strategic planning and effective coordination of development processes in the country. Practical activities on the basis of these documents and documents will contribute to the growth of creative products, diversification of exports, development of small and medium-sized businesses, reduction of the shadow economy, reduction of youth unemployment, closer cooperation between the state and society, and other broad national goals," Gasimli said.

According to the calculations of the Ministry of Taxes and the Statistical Committee, which only takes into account the data of individuals and legal entities registered as taxpayers, the share of CCI in Azerbaijan’s GDP was one percent in 2016.

Gasimli believes, the CCI development will lead to the introduction of up-to-date innovations in education, economic development in the regions, and strengthening of inter-organizational and private sector cooperation.

"The jobs created in this area are more tolerant of digitalization compared to other industries because it is closely linked to human intelligence. According to preliminary research by the Center, a 1-manat increase in the creative and cultural industries in Azerbaijan could lead to an increase of 1.12 manat in overall economic activity," he said.

In turn, Vasif Eyvazzade, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Culture, Head of the International Cooperation and Innovation Development Department said that Azexport.az portal is an important platform for access to foreign and local markets for businesses, manufacturers, service providers, authors and individual entrepreneurs represented in the CCI sector.

"We hope that this portal will provide additional opportunities for local cultural and creative industries to make a significant contribution to their businesses and promotion. Currently, the representation and sales of current market participants in the CCI market on international platforms and export platforms is quite low. Cooperating with the Azexport portal in the light of this need can only benefit local cultural and creative industries. In this regard, we invite local business representatives, entrepreneurs, manufacturers and authors to actively collaborate with this important platform, operating in all CCI areas," he stated.

It was reported that the next stage of the portal’s development will include design solutions, handicrafts, national souvenirs, works, poems, paintings, creative video games, music, composing and other creative products that can be exported by Etsy, Apple Music, Itunes, Google Play, Kickstarter, Sothebys and Amazon. It is planned to be deployed on platforms like Kindle.

The mission of azexport.az, created by the Decree of President Aliyev and administered by the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communications, is to provide information on the goods of Azerbaijan origin and to create a favorable platform for their sale in the domestic and foreign markets.

During its existence, the portal received more than 1.3 billion manats ($764.7 million) export orders from 150 countries. These orders are mainly for food products, agricultural products and industrial products. Azexport portal has been re-presented with potential exporters of entrepreneurial activities in this field, taking into account the favorable opportunities for access to the world markets of artistic, creative, music, film, publishing and other products.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94