BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 20. Over the past four years, the number of households in Azerbaijan with access to high-speed fixed broadband internet has grown 13-fold, reaching around 3 million and achieving full nationwide coverage, said Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Transport Samir Mammadov, Trend reports.
He made the remark during the final day of the presentation of an innovation program implemented across Azerbaijan’s regions.
Mammadov noted that the project, in addition to improving internet infrastructure, represents a strategic step toward shaping the country’s digital future.
“The expansion of high-speed internet has significantly enhanced the operational capabilities of Azerbaijan’s technoparks. From January to August 2025, 26 legal entities, including two foreign companies, received technopark resident status. Following amendments to the ‘Model Regulation on Technoparks’ in 2023, 144 legal entities, including eight foreign companies, were granted resident status to operate outside the technoparks,” he said.
To support the growth of companies operating outside technoparks, relevant statistical data was collected, forming the basis for the next stages of the support mechanism. “This project will implement initiatives aimed at fostering the growth of these companies and increasing their export potential,” he added.
The deputy minister also highlighted the progress made in Azerbaijan’s innovation ecosystem in recent years. “With the support of IRIA, a variety of incubation and acceleration programs, hackathons, and ideathons have been organized over the past three years. More than 600 startups received support, with over 275 advancing their ideas to the stage of a minimally viable product. Regions, universities, and local and international partners actively participated in this process. As a result, startups have expanded into sectors such as e-commerce, healthcare technologies, edtech and agritech, fintech, clean technologies, the Internet of Things, big data, and the gaming industry.
At the same time, venture mechanisms in Azerbaijan have entered a new phase. Over the past few years, various domestic funds have raised more than $15 million in capital, of which over $2.2 million has already been invested in startups operating in the region.”