BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 17. We view artificial intelligence (AI) more as an initiative related to talent and human potential than as a technological initiative, the CEO of PASHA Financial Holding, Farid Mammadov, said at the opening ceremony of the Baku ID 2026 innovation festival held at the SABAH. City Innovation Campus, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
He noted that technology is merely a tool that creates opportunities. At the same time, it is people and technology that constitute the truly important and valuable components for these companies.
“We view this from three perspectives. Today, access to knowledge is virtually cost-free. However, acquiring this knowledge—as well as, as already noted, the ability to reason and make assessments based on the information and knowledge obtained - requires significant investment in the development and training of people.
Second, there is productivity. We want people to be freed from small, everyday routine tasks that do not add value, do not contribute to finding new approaches, or to developing new ways of working. For us, AI and digitalization are meant to free people from routine tasks and allow them to focus on what creates value and requires a higher level of analytical thinking.
Third, as soon as people become productive, their ability and likelihood of creating innovations increase. This applies to both incremental innovations in processes and the creation of new business lines and new channels,” he said.
The Baku ID 2026 innovation festival is being held in Baku on September 17–18, organized by SABAH.HUB Innovation Center, with the support of government agencies and private-sector partners.
Baku ID brings together investors, startups and leading representatives of the innovation ecosystem. The festival is being held for the first time this year at the SABAH. city innovation campus, one of Azerbaijan’s emerging centers for future technological development. Bringing together industry, science, capital and the public sector in a single environment, SABAH.city is being developed as a modern ecosystem aimed at strengthening the country’s innovation potential.
The two-day festival program includes keynote speeches, panel discussions, startup presentations, and networking sessions. Discussions will cover key trends shaping the future of technology and business, including artificial intelligence, venture capital, angel investment, and financial, healthcare, education, green, and property technologies.
As part of the festival, local and international startups will present their solutions to investors representing Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Türkiye, Georgia, the Middle East and North Africa, and other international markets.
