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U.S. programs facilitate entrepreneurial development in Armenia
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2013-07-21-u-s--programs-facilitate-entrepreneurial-development-in-armenia
Published: Sunday July 21, 2013
Top Class program participants.
YEREVAN - The USAID-funded Enterprise Development and Market
Competitiveness (EDMC) Project and the Center for Entrepreneurship and
Executive Development (CEED) marked the end of the second Top Class
program in Armenia on July 11, 2013. From November 2012 to July 2013,
over 20 Armenian entrepreneurs and business managers, mainly from the
high-tech, pharmaceutical, food processing, hospitality, construction,
and banking sectors, took part in the program.
Top Class 2012-2013 enabled participants to receive high-level
training and mentoring from leading business managers and successful
entrepreneurs, participate in B2B meetings and networking events in
Armenia and abroad (Israel, Jordan, and Croatia), and meet with
investors. Training and mentoring were delivered by Chairman and
Co-Founder of Roda Group Roger Strauch, Founder of "Rasmussen
International" Rick Rasmussen, CFO and Founder of FruitsMax and
Founder of Davan Group David Bequette, Honorary Consul of Norway and
Finland in Armenia and Founder of the Homeland Development Initiative
Foundation Sir Timothy Straight and many others, who touched upon a
variety of topics from leadership and strategic planning to product
development and intellectual property rights.
"The Top Class program is offered in 14 countries (Europe, Southeast
Asia and Africa) of the global CEED network; and Armenia is the only
South Caucasus country to currently offer this program," noted CEED
Armenia Executive Director Jemma Israyelyan during the event. "It is
not a formal training program, but a unique opportunity for local
young entrepreneurs to get personalized advice from experienced and
successful peers, discuss practical issues, and come up with solutions
that will help their company to grow."
During the graduation ceremony, participants received graduation
certificates and networked with alumni of the first generation of the
Top Class program in Armenia as well as with mentors and speakers.
"The program creates an enduring link between entrepreneurs and
business managers that are on the road to growth and those that have
already accomplished a lot in their life. It is a great opportunity
for finding solutions to common business challenges and to share
experiences," noted Top Class graduate, CEO and Founder of LimeTech
Gevorg Safaryan.
48 Armenian start-ups compete in the Armenia StartUp Cup 2013
The American founders of the StartUp Cup, Upostrophe Foundation, USAID
Enterprise Development and Market Competitiveness (EDMC) Project, and
the Ayb High School announced the launch of the Armenian StartUp Cup
on July 13.
The competition has brought together 48 Armenian start-up teams and
companies who, along with around 20 coaches and judges, will
participate in the Build-A-Business weekend, led by StartUp Cup
founders Sean Griffin and Kristen Bergman at Ayb High School from July
13-14. The weekend will conclude with the Top 25 teams chosen to
advance to the next round of the business model competition.
StartUp Cup is an international business model competition, which
provides local entrepreneurs with community-based long-term support
during their early growth phase. The competition is open to any type
of business idea and is a proven model to build businesses and create
jobs.
"As one of the first StartUp Cups held outside the United States in
2012 it is inspiring to see the growing impact that Armenia StartUp
Cup is having on Armenia's entrepreneurial ecosystem. The increased
number of submissions received and community partners engaged this
year is a testament to Armenia's growing commitment to
entrepreneurship as a powerful path to economic growth and improving
lives," said Sean Griffin, CEO and Founder of StartUp Cup.
>From July to November 2013, participating entrepreneurs will receive
coaching and mentoring from 20 local seasoned entrepreneurs and
business leaders. The participants will design a viable business
model, build teams, and enhance investor outreach efforts, as well as
a number of other business skills from sales to finance. An award
celebration will be held in November to announce the winners during
Global Entrepreneurship Week.
"We often forget that startups have the difficult task of competing
with real companies in the marketplace. Armenia StartUp Cup offers
local entrepreneurs a long incubation period, unlike other
competitions, during which they work with experienced entrepreneurs to
get all of the advice and help needed to accelerate their ideas into
the market," said Hayk Asriyants, the organizer of the competition.
"We strive to help them develop something customers actually want for
as inexpensive as possible."
The venue of this year's competition is made possible through the Ayb
High School. "Innovation and creativity constitute an essential part
of our work at Ayb. Today many modern education institutions offer
courses that foster the development of entrepreneurial knowledge and
skills. Principles of entrepreneurship is a mandatory course at Ayb,"
said Davit Sahakyan, Principal of Ayb High School. "Good education
from a young age is the key to all of this."
The travel and accommodation for the StartUp Cup founders is made
possible through the USAID-funded Enterprise Development and Market
Competitiveness (EDMC) Project. "At EDMC, we aim to not only offer a
competitive process that educates young entrepreneurs about how to
create a viable business but to also support the development of a
mentorship institute in Armenia; both are important components of
startup development," said Fred Levitan, Value Chain Competitiveness
Team Leader at EDMC Project.
Armenia StartUp Cup organizers have partnered with an increased number
of service-providers this year in an effort to increase the
community-based support for participating entrepreneurs. Demobakery
will offer free pretotype development and testing services to one of
the participants in the web/mobile category. The pretotype will be
tested on www.conceptcloud.cc system and will allow the team to know
if their concept assumptions were right or not.
The winner of this year's Armenia StartUp Cup will get pro bono legal
consulting from LegalLab law boutique on setting up and structuring
the business.
# # #
Armenia Startup Cup is co-organized by the Upostrophe Foundation,
USAID Enterprise Development and Market Competitiveness (EDMC)
Project, and the Ayb High School.
The competition is supported by Global Entrepreneurship Week and US
State Department's Global Entrepreneurship Program, Center for
Entrepreneurship and Executive Development (CEED Armenia), Deem
Communications, Demo Bakery, LegalLab law boutique, ONEArmenia, Repat
Armenia Foundation, School for Young Leaders, IAB Centre, and
iTechnology.am, as well as The Green Bean Coffee Shop, Ashtarak Kat
with its Mojo Yogurt brand, Mr. Gyros, Clear Water, and Cinnabon
Armenia.
# # #
The USAID-funded Enterprise Development and Market Competitiveness
(EDMC) Project seeks to improve Armenia's business environment and
support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
This five-year project aims to increase employment and income in
Armenia by promoting growth in select value chains that have strong
export potential - high technologies, pharmaceuticals/biotechnologies,
food processing, and hospitality.
CEED's mission is to provide entrepreneurs and their executive teams
the know-how and networks they need to accelerate the growth of their
businesses and to promote an entrepreneurial culture in the broader
society. USAID/EDMC project brought CEED to Armenia as a core partner
in entrepreneurship training and mentoring.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2013-07-21-u-s--programs-facilitate-entrepreneurial-development-in-armenia
Published: Sunday July 21, 2013
Top Class program participants.
YEREVAN - The USAID-funded Enterprise Development and Market
Competitiveness (EDMC) Project and the Center for Entrepreneurship and
Executive Development (CEED) marked the end of the second Top Class
program in Armenia on July 11, 2013. From November 2012 to July 2013,
over 20 Armenian entrepreneurs and business managers, mainly from the
high-tech, pharmaceutical, food processing, hospitality, construction,
and banking sectors, took part in the program.
Top Class 2012-2013 enabled participants to receive high-level
training and mentoring from leading business managers and successful
entrepreneurs, participate in B2B meetings and networking events in
Armenia and abroad (Israel, Jordan, and Croatia), and meet with
investors. Training and mentoring were delivered by Chairman and
Co-Founder of Roda Group Roger Strauch, Founder of "Rasmussen
International" Rick Rasmussen, CFO and Founder of FruitsMax and
Founder of Davan Group David Bequette, Honorary Consul of Norway and
Finland in Armenia and Founder of the Homeland Development Initiative
Foundation Sir Timothy Straight and many others, who touched upon a
variety of topics from leadership and strategic planning to product
development and intellectual property rights.
"The Top Class program is offered in 14 countries (Europe, Southeast
Asia and Africa) of the global CEED network; and Armenia is the only
South Caucasus country to currently offer this program," noted CEED
Armenia Executive Director Jemma Israyelyan during the event. "It is
not a formal training program, but a unique opportunity for local
young entrepreneurs to get personalized advice from experienced and
successful peers, discuss practical issues, and come up with solutions
that will help their company to grow."
During the graduation ceremony, participants received graduation
certificates and networked with alumni of the first generation of the
Top Class program in Armenia as well as with mentors and speakers.
"The program creates an enduring link between entrepreneurs and
business managers that are on the road to growth and those that have
already accomplished a lot in their life. It is a great opportunity
for finding solutions to common business challenges and to share
experiences," noted Top Class graduate, CEO and Founder of LimeTech
Gevorg Safaryan.
48 Armenian start-ups compete in the Armenia StartUp Cup 2013
The American founders of the StartUp Cup, Upostrophe Foundation, USAID
Enterprise Development and Market Competitiveness (EDMC) Project, and
the Ayb High School announced the launch of the Armenian StartUp Cup
on July 13.
The competition has brought together 48 Armenian start-up teams and
companies who, along with around 20 coaches and judges, will
participate in the Build-A-Business weekend, led by StartUp Cup
founders Sean Griffin and Kristen Bergman at Ayb High School from July
13-14. The weekend will conclude with the Top 25 teams chosen to
advance to the next round of the business model competition.
StartUp Cup is an international business model competition, which
provides local entrepreneurs with community-based long-term support
during their early growth phase. The competition is open to any type
of business idea and is a proven model to build businesses and create
jobs.
"As one of the first StartUp Cups held outside the United States in
2012 it is inspiring to see the growing impact that Armenia StartUp
Cup is having on Armenia's entrepreneurial ecosystem. The increased
number of submissions received and community partners engaged this
year is a testament to Armenia's growing commitment to
entrepreneurship as a powerful path to economic growth and improving
lives," said Sean Griffin, CEO and Founder of StartUp Cup.
>From July to November 2013, participating entrepreneurs will receive
coaching and mentoring from 20 local seasoned entrepreneurs and
business leaders. The participants will design a viable business
model, build teams, and enhance investor outreach efforts, as well as
a number of other business skills from sales to finance. An award
celebration will be held in November to announce the winners during
Global Entrepreneurship Week.
"We often forget that startups have the difficult task of competing
with real companies in the marketplace. Armenia StartUp Cup offers
local entrepreneurs a long incubation period, unlike other
competitions, during which they work with experienced entrepreneurs to
get all of the advice and help needed to accelerate their ideas into
the market," said Hayk Asriyants, the organizer of the competition.
"We strive to help them develop something customers actually want for
as inexpensive as possible."
The venue of this year's competition is made possible through the Ayb
High School. "Innovation and creativity constitute an essential part
of our work at Ayb. Today many modern education institutions offer
courses that foster the development of entrepreneurial knowledge and
skills. Principles of entrepreneurship is a mandatory course at Ayb,"
said Davit Sahakyan, Principal of Ayb High School. "Good education
from a young age is the key to all of this."
The travel and accommodation for the StartUp Cup founders is made
possible through the USAID-funded Enterprise Development and Market
Competitiveness (EDMC) Project. "At EDMC, we aim to not only offer a
competitive process that educates young entrepreneurs about how to
create a viable business but to also support the development of a
mentorship institute in Armenia; both are important components of
startup development," said Fred Levitan, Value Chain Competitiveness
Team Leader at EDMC Project.
Armenia StartUp Cup organizers have partnered with an increased number
of service-providers this year in an effort to increase the
community-based support for participating entrepreneurs. Demobakery
will offer free pretotype development and testing services to one of
the participants in the web/mobile category. The pretotype will be
tested on www.conceptcloud.cc system and will allow the team to know
if their concept assumptions were right or not.
The winner of this year's Armenia StartUp Cup will get pro bono legal
consulting from LegalLab law boutique on setting up and structuring
the business.
# # #
Armenia Startup Cup is co-organized by the Upostrophe Foundation,
USAID Enterprise Development and Market Competitiveness (EDMC)
Project, and the Ayb High School.
The competition is supported by Global Entrepreneurship Week and US
State Department's Global Entrepreneurship Program, Center for
Entrepreneurship and Executive Development (CEED Armenia), Deem
Communications, Demo Bakery, LegalLab law boutique, ONEArmenia, Repat
Armenia Foundation, School for Young Leaders, IAB Centre, and
iTechnology.am, as well as The Green Bean Coffee Shop, Ashtarak Kat
with its Mojo Yogurt brand, Mr. Gyros, Clear Water, and Cinnabon
Armenia.
# # #
The USAID-funded Enterprise Development and Market Competitiveness
(EDMC) Project seeks to improve Armenia's business environment and
support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
This five-year project aims to increase employment and income in
Armenia by promoting growth in select value chains that have strong
export potential - high technologies, pharmaceuticals/biotechnologies,
food processing, and hospitality.
CEED's mission is to provide entrepreneurs and their executive teams
the know-how and networks they need to accelerate the growth of their
businesses and to promote an entrepreneurial culture in the broader
society. USAID/EDMC project brought CEED to Armenia as a core partner
in entrepreneurship training and mentoring.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress