Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 28
By Huseyn Valiyev - Trend:
The current financing of startups and lending of projects of major IT companies in Azerbaijan will continue until the Agency on Innovations is formed, Yashar Hajiyev, a member of the supervisory board of the State Fund for Development of Information Technologies of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan, told Trend.
He said that the duties of the Agency will include resolving of the same tasks that the State Fund has so far been dealing with.
“Until the completion of the formation of the structure of the Agency, the Fund will determine the strategy for the next year, and after that a plan will be established according to which its functions will be transferred to the Agency,” said Hajiyev.
The decree on the creation of the Agency on Innovations under the ministry was signed by Azerbaijani president in early November this year. In accordance with the decree, property on the balance of the State Fund and the High-Tech Park LLC will be transferred to the balance of the Agency.
The Agency will support innovative scientific research, encourage innovative projects (including startups), finance them with the help of grants, concessional loans and investments in authorized capital (including venture financing).
As for the next, the seventh stage of the startup grant competition, Hajiyev said that this is included in the upcoming plans and this issue may become topical in January next year.
“The competition plan has already been developed,” he said. “Perhaps, the previously defined criteria for financing will be changed, and the focus will be shifted to other specific IT areas. In general, I believe that the approach developed by the State Fund is optimal. The amounts that were allocated as grants, correspond to the intentions set forth in grant applications. The problem is only in the small number of innovative projects, hence the limited funding.”