EU4Business ITTD supports establishment of “SAP Startup Factory by BANA in Armenia”

On June 8 SAP, a German multinational software corporation, and BANA – Business Angel Network of Armenia announced partnership for establishment of SAP Startup Factory by BANA in Armenia.  The establishment of SAP Startup Factory by BANA in Armenia has become possible due to the support of the EU4Business “Innovative Tourism and Technology Development for Armenia’’ project, which is co-funded by the European Union and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by German Development Cooperation GIZ.

H.E. Ambassador of European Union to Armenia Andrea Wiktorin, Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry Davit Sahakyan, Deputy Ambassador of Germany to Armenia Klaus Wendelberger,  GIZ Armenia Country Director Madeleine Rauschenberger attended the event and welcomed the start of the project.

The SAP Startup Factory by BANA will start with running the 1st batch of acceleration of mature startups by engaging up to 10 startups. In parallel events and activities will be organized, such as bootcamp, incubation, aiming to enhance premature startups for acceleration programs.

“The start-up ecosystem in Armenia is a driver for economic growth, good jobs and digital transformation. The launch of the SAP Startup Factory by BANA, supported under the EU4Business framework, reveals the potential of the Armenian ICT sector and is a stepping stone for the ambition of the country to be a global technology powerhouse”, said EU Ambassador to Armenia Andrea Wiktorin.

“There is a lot of talent but also a lot of challenges for Armenian startups. But with EU4Business ITTD project support and this well welcomed cooperation we believe this challenge will be addressed. Start-up factory in Armenia will provide start-ups with the access to the global business”, said Wilhelm Hugo, Team Leader of EU4Business “Innovative Tourism and Technology Development for Armenia’’ project.

Grigor Hovhannisyan, the Director of BANA said. “It’s an absolute privilege and honor for us to cooperate with such great organizations and establish one of a kind startup program in Armenia. This is a unique international acceleration vehicle that puts Armenian ecosystem into the next level and is one of the key steps to make Armenia a Regional Tech Hub. We are opening a new door for our B2B startups and are determined that this will have a major impact on their growth.

“SAP has wide experience in working with startups and successfully helps companies enter international markets. We can help them with our technology and knowledge in innovative developments. Sharing of experience and best practices within the digital economy contributes to both the development of competitiveness and the maintenance of companies’ export potential. I am sure that SAP Startup Factory will give a strong impetus to the further development of the ICT sector in Armenia”, said Alexey Petunin, SAP CIS COO.

The ultimate goal of establishment of SAP Startup Factory by BANA in Armenia is to guide as many of selected startups as possible to SAP Store, which is the access to global SAP customer base. The program will enable Armenia to become a regional hub by opening the program for the startups from the region.

The EU4Business “Innovative Tourism and Technology Development for Armenia’’ project is co-funded by the European Union and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by German Development Cooperation GIZ through the Private Sector Development and TVET South Caucasus Programme. The project is part of the EU4Business initiative of the European Union. EU4Business ITTD overall objective is to ensure shared and balanced inclusive growth in innovative tourism and industries.

BANA – Business Angel Network of Armenia is the 1st and the most active Angel Network in Armenia. It has a mission to connect leading angel investors from around the world with the brightest Armenian entrepreneurs. BANA runs many ecosystem building activities like business incubator, conferences, bootcamps and various events for startups.

SAP is the world leader in enterprise applications, SAP solutions and services are used by more than 440,000 customers in 180 countries around the world. In 1992, the SAP SE office was opened in Moscow, now the number of SAP CIS employees is about 1,300 people. In 2012, SAP Labs opened a research and development center in Moscow, which also has a division in St. Petersburg.

For more than 29 years, SAP has helped Russian companies transform and optimize their businesses based on innovative solutions. SAP is the only international developer that has its own data center in Russia. In July 2018, the SAP Digital Leadership Center was opened in Moscow. The company actively invests in training, enhancing competence and developing ecosystem expertise. More than 130 universities in Russia and CIS receive free access to SAP software for educational purposes. Since 2016, 17 SAP Next-Gen Lab, centers of innovation for students and young IT professionals, have been opened.