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Baku hosts final day of innovation program across Azerbaijan's regions (PHOTO)

Economy Materials 20 August 2025 10:20 (UTC +04:00)
Baku hosts final day of innovation program across Azerbaijan's regions (PHOTO)
Sadig Javadov
Sadig Javadov
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 20. The final day of the presentation of an innovation program implemented in Azerbaijan’s regions is taking place in Baku, Trend reports.

The event is attended by Chairman of the Board of the Innovation and Digital Development Agency (IDIA) Farid Osmanov, Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Transport Samir Mammadov, and First Deputy Chairman of the Small and Medium Business Development Agency Samir Humbatov.

As part of the program, educational activities, hackathons, and incubation projects were organized, and support was provided to 35 new innovative initiatives in the regions. The event will also feature the presentation of the program’s final results and the awarding of a prize fund of 50,000 manat ($29,411).

Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister Samir Mammadov highlighted that over the past 4 years, the number of households with access to stable broadband, high-speed internet increased 13-fold, reaching nearly 3 million, ensuring full national coverage.

“The spread of high-speed internet has technically expanded the capabilities of technology parks. In January–August 2025, residency status was granted to 26 legal entities, including 2 foreign companies. Furthermore, since amendments to the ‘Model Charter on Technology Parks’ in 2023, a total of 144 legal entities, including 8 foreign ones, have obtained residency outside technology parks.

I should also note that to support the growth of businesses of legal entities granted residency to operate outside the technopark, relevant statistical data were collected from them. Based on this information, the next stages of the support mechanism have been planned, including projects aimed at fostering the development of these companies and enhancing their export potential,” he stated.

Mammadov added that significant steps have been taken in recent years to build the innovation ecosystem.

“With IDDA’s support over the past 3 years, various incubation and acceleration programs, hackathons, and ideathons have been held, supporting more than 600 startups. Over 275 of them advanced their ideas to the minimum viable product stage. Our regions, universities, and both local and international partners have played an active role in this process, enabling our startups to cover diverse fields such as e-commerce, health tech, edtech, agritech, fintech, green technologies, the internet of things, big data, and the gaming industry. Venture capital mechanisms have also entered a crucial stage, with more than $15 million of capital raised through various funds, of which over $2.2 million has already been invested in regional startups,” he noted.

Speaking at the event, IDDA Chairman Farid Osmanov announced that new innovation centers are planned to be opened in Ganja and Nakhchivan to bring together young innovators. He stressed that these hubs will allow regional innovators to present their ideas to experts, investors, and ecosystem stakeholders for further development.

“I am sure that every Innostart program participant, every startup, and every mentor will make a meaningful contribution to the growth of the innovation economy across our regions. As IDDA, we stand by you and remain ready to support the sustainable development of your new initiatives,” Osmanov emphasized.

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