BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 21
By Sadraddin Aghjayev - Trend:
The Azerbaijani Lotfi Zadeh Technology Center plans to support the local start-up projects in 2021, the Center’s Director Imran Baghirov said in his interview to Trend.
According to Baghirov, this year the center plans to contribute to the development and growth of the number of start-up projects of local developers.
"Today we plan to provide financial, technological, and technical support to all young specialists and professional developers of start-up projects," he noted.
Besides, the director noted that the center has the ability to implement personal servers that are protected from cyber-attacks from abroad.
"Any organization or entrepreneur can install their own or rent one of our servers to implement their projects," added Baghirov.
He pointed out that the center is ready to offer a number of services in the field of information technologies.
"We are ready to provide startups with mentoring services, acceleration, and incubation services, find reliable partners and investors who are ready to invest in the project and bring them to international markets," he stressed.
According to him, the center also plans to expand partnerships, both with local organizations and with international ones.
"We, as a young organization in the Azerbaijani market, are paying great attention to expanding partnerships with local, as well as a number of foreign financial and IT companies," said the director.
He further pointed out that starting from April 2021, to support young specialists the center will start issuing monthly grants in the amount of 5,000 manat ($2,940).
"Those residents, whose ideas are worthy of further development, will be able to receive it," Baghirov further added.
According to him, presently a goal has been set in Azerbaijan to develop 500 start-up projects.
"These are very large numbers. Today, there are about 200 start-up projects in our country. To achieve this goal, we need IT specialists, programmers, startups, and a number of other employees in this industry," said the director.
Besides, he stressed that entrepreneurs and startups need state and legal support to implement the tasks set before the center.
"Despite some legal difficulties, our state is working to exempt startups (both entrepreneurs and legal entities) from taxes on profits and taxes on importing IT equipment into the country. This will not only give an impetus to the innovation ecosystem's development but will also increase the number of local startup solutions," summed up Baghirov.
The Lotfi Zadeh Center was created for freelancers, students, and entrepreneurs who dream of opening their own business, where they can develop their projects.
The center, named after the world-famous scientist, professor of the US University of California (Berkeley), founder of the theory of fuzzy sets, honorary member of Azerbaijani National Academy of Sciences, Lutfali Alasgarzadeh (Lotfi Zadeh), opened on February 4, 2021, on the 100th anniversary of the great mathematician.
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