BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 13. At the moment, 65 startups have achieved the level of minimum viable product (MVP) within incubation and accelerator programs in Azerbaijan, the head of the Investment and Ecosystem Support Department of the Innovation and Digital Development Agency (IRIA) Agahuseyn Ahmadov said, Trend reports.
He made the remark during a reporting event dedicated to the annual activity of IRIA under the Ministry of Digital Development and Transportation of Azerbaijan.
He noted that the main goal of the ecosystem is to create products or services that meet the market demand.
“This, of course, can be implemented by startups. Startups can be launched either in universities, independently, or within large corporations. And, of course, an ecosystem is necessary for their creation and organization; the presence of ecosystem elements is also mandatory. These elements can be divided into several categories: market accessibility, ensuring financial accessibility, developing human capital, providing infrastructure, and, finally, forming an innovative culture,” Ahmadov said.
According to him, the Agency for Innovation and Digital Development has so far implemented incubation and accelerator programs, innovation programs in the regions, projects in universities, and organized delegations abroad.
“So far, as part of incubation and accelerator programs, 9 demo days have been held, in which more than 100 startups have participated. These 100 startups were represented by more than 300 participants. Out of these 100 startups, 65 have reached the minimum viable product (MVP) level. In addition, we held five accelerator events as part of our accelerator programs. More than 1 million euros of investments were attracted within the framework of these projects,” Ahmadov said.