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IRIS Business Incubator

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EU Supported Iris Business Incubator Showcased the First Success

On March 5th, the Certificate Award Ceremony to the 44 residents of the EU supported IRIS Business Incubators (IRIS BI) 1st Incubation Cycle took place at Poligraf Industrial Zone premises in the framework of the EU-funded Increased Resilience of Syrian Armenians and Host Population (IRIS) programme?

The Head of the European Union Delegation to Armenia, H.E. Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin, Ms. Nora Alanakyan, the Deputy Head of Yerevan Office of the Austrian Development Agency, Mr. Michael Grabner (IRIS Overall Programme Manager, Austrian Red Cross), and representatives of founding organizations Ms. Lusine Stepanyan (Armenian Caritas) and Mr. Ruben Osipyan (Chairperson of SME Cooperation Association) as well as Ms. Narine Terzyan (IRIS BI Executive Director) together with partners and residents attended the event.

Ambassador Wiktorin welcomed all participants and mentioned: 2020 was a difficult year for small businesses in Armenia. SMEs will be at the heart of economic recovery in the country. I am proud that in the midst of all challenges, 44 new and existing businesses were supported by the EU-funded IRIS incubator. Our ambition is to help Armenia to be the best place to start a business and to grow. EU remains committed to empowering entrepreneurs in Armenia. As an advocate of women empowerment, Ambassador Wiktorin highlighted that 22 of the 44 entrepreneurs were women.

During the event, Ms. Narine Terzyan, Ms. Lusine Stepanyan, and Mr. Ruben Osipyan awarded certificates to the 44 successful entrepreneurs, who had successfully passed two-months long workshops of IRIS BI Academy on business and business plan developments. The successful entrepreneurs also had the opportunity to present their business products in the showcase organized in the separate hall, where also networking opportunities with prospective mentors and possible partners took place.

Contracts with an overall value of more than 400,000 EUR had been signed and disbursed by the EU IRIS Business Incubator to the entrepreneurs of the 1st cycle. 

The IRIS BI team aspires to give business incubation services and access to finance to more successful candidates with bright and creative business ideas within the 2nd incubation cycle which will finish in May 2021, while the 3rd cycle is to start tentatively from May/June 2021.