BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 2. The CAMCA region should be viewed not as a collection of individual countries but as a single ecosystem, and it is necessary to create shared opportunities for business expansion, founder and chairman of the board of directors of Sabah Investment Group, Orkhan Mustafayev, said at the CAMCA regional forum held in Baku on October 2, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
He noted that, as an entrepreneur, he approaches this issue from the perspective of a business representative rather than a politician, and believes that closer integration among countries is important for business development in the region.
“Our main area of activity is the real estate sector, and we have been focused on this field for the past 16 years. We are currently expanding our operations in the CAMCA region, including in Georgia and Uzbekistan. We are entering these markets together with our partners from the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and Italy. This is a fairly diversified portfolio of investors who believe in our platform,” Mustafaev noted.
He said that viewing CAMCA as a single ecosystem, rather than separating Azerbaijan, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and other countries, could make it easier for businesses to scale up.
“Of course, policies and regulations cannot be the same in every country. But they can be very similar. In that case, we can scale up and grow in these markets more easily,” he added.
Mustafayev noted that the approaches used in Georgia and Uzbekistan toward public, commercial, and public-private partnerships are interesting examples.
“We’re taking some interesting aspects from the Georgian approaches and trying to apply them in Azerbaijan. Sometimes we try to use these mechanisms more effectively,” he said.
The entrepreneur emphasized that expanding cooperation among countries in the region could create conditions for the financing, production, and sales of business projects across different countries.
“Imagine that a technological idea is conceived in Azerbaijan, capital is attracted from Kazakhstan, production takes place in Georgia, and a partner is found in Uzbekistan. After that, the successful business can be expanded throughout the CAMCA region. At the same time, a larger and more established market is created—one that understands the business and its operational model,” O. Mustafayev noted.
He said that while it is relatively easy to start a business, it is much more difficult to ensure its sustainability, expand its operations, and scale it up.
“Starting a business is very easy. But maintaining it, expanding it, and scaling it up is very difficult. Being the leader of a company that employs 200, 100, or even 50 or 500 people places a huge responsibility on an entrepreneur. As the business grows, you are responsible for every one of those people,” he emphasized.
O. Mustafayev described CAMCA as an important opportunity for business development in the region and for strengthening economic ties between countries.
“CAMCA is an opportunity for me. I think it can become a good platform and tool for bringing together certain policies and goals,” he said.
According to him, both the public and private sectors are creating opportunities for the development of startups, as well as small and medium-sized businesses in the region.
“Of course, there are many opportunities in Silicon Valley. But, in my view, there is also capital in the Middle East, especially in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar, with the potential for major investments in startups. At the same time, there are good examples of private investment in startups in the GCC region that are contributing to the development of the real estate, construction, and property development sectors,” Mustafayev said.
He noted that the existing mechanisms for startup development in Azerbaijan are effective only to a certain extent and that there are many small and medium-sized enterprises operating thanks to government support, subsidies, and private-sector investment.
“As an entrepreneur, I believe there are three key factors for transforming CAMCA into a successful regional platform where businesses can easily scale up,” he said.
According to him, the first issue is time and the simplicity of regulations.
“Time is capital. All rules and regulations must be very clear and simple, and information must be presented with complete transparency and accuracy. I simply want to log into the system from my computer and see all the information on the screen,” emphasized O. Mustafayev.
Noting the second key issue — access to capital — the entrepreneur stressed the importance of ensuring access to various sources of financing for businesses operating in the CAMCA region.
“If we conduct any business within the framework of CAMCA, we need access to family offices, institutional investors, and other financial sources to secure funding when necessary,” he noted.
O. Mustafayev said that the third important area is policy and legislation.
“I am confident that if internationally recognized legislation is applied to any of the CAMCA countries, large institutional investors will find it easier to enter that country. For example, mechanisms based on the legal systems of England, Singapore, and other countries will allow investors to feel more comfortable placing their assets here and viewing the CAMCA region as a whole as a long-term investment,” he added.
