The former trade network of Julfa is presented to the world in a new way, in accordance with the requirements of the 21st century, and already in the world of digital technology. The Digital Julfa Network was officially launched Wednesday as part of the Orion Summit 2022 technology summit in Yerevan—and as an initiative uniting the pan-Armenian intellectual, technological, commercial, and cultural potential.
For centuries, Armenians have been able to create a large network in economy, law, trade, and innovation without great opportunities for communication. It has existed for 300 years, their followers still work in the Mekhitarist and Lazarian seminaries. Now the Armenian specialists have set themselves the task of restoring all that—naturally, with innovative solutions.
Emma Arakelyan, CEO and Founder of Orion Worldwide Innovations—a startup developer—and Co-Founding Partner of BAJ Accelerator, is sure that this potential exists in education and they want to restore it all.
"In the time of New Julfa, all that was from Amsterdam to Manila. Under the conditions of our digital economy, we can expand it to make it global. Our goal is to use the power of Armenia’s mind, to create and develop in Armenia the capacity to do business and to spread it all over the world through cooperation, to create wealth, prosperity, the right world position for Armenia. We have set a great goal for Armenia to have its position in all these spheres," she says.
How will the Digital Julfa Network be created?
“In order to create the Digital Julfa Network, all branches of Armenia’s economy must be involved. The role of the banking system is very important here. Science and technology companies, faculty, and startups should be involved in the network, as it provides greater opportunities for them. Although the initiative started in Armenia, it should not be limited to Armenia,” Emma Arakelyan assures.
"Mark Chenian, a member of the board of the Union of Armenian Friends, one of the goals of which is to develop and position Armenia’s economy, has formed a large group of 156 scientists, whose summit will be on Lazarus Island, which was one of the islands of Julfa. This is a continuation of the network. Another important circumstance is that we cooperate with venture companies, banking companies, and the Central Bank of Armenia. There are various matters whereby all companies can create power together to bring wealth and prosperity," said the Orion Worldwide Innovations CEO.
How to become a unicorn company?
A startup can go on the road to become a unicorn company if it aims to become a global company. Emma Arakelyan notes that their various investors are encouraged to invest in both Armenian companies operating in Armenia and Armenian companies not operating in Armenia in order to strengthen the Armenian potential. "That is, we unite our entire collective force—with 10-12 million Armenians, circling distances that are not important because we live in a digital economy. We have to think globally," she said.
Although there are many trends in the IT sector in the world right now, Orion Worldwide Innovations is ready to support, create investment opportunities for companies that are particularly interested in artificial intelligence. "Artificial intelligence is having an increasingly profound effect on all economies and companies. Artificial intelligence is very important, security solutions, FinTech, etc. We are interested in such companies, which have attracted some attention,” says Emma Arakelyan.
Of the 95 companies involved in the project, 43 are Armenian, and three of them—Embodied, cognaize, and Scylla—are already on their way to global impact. There are five new companies that have registered quite a rapid growth in Armenia and have great potential.
What is the state of education in Armenia?
"Basic education in Armenia is well-founded," says Emma Arakelyan. However, in order to be ready for the challenges of the world market, to achieve success, it would be good for Armenia’s universities to create continuous programs, pay great attention to the teaching of mathematics, and offer innovative approaches in education.
"Along with all this, I see that some companies—such as Picsart and Synopsys—offer their lessons, which is very welcome; and we have founded the BAJ Unicorn Academy, and realizing what specialists the unicorn companies need, after consulting and analyzing all this, we decided to found it. We work with the faculty of the Armenian Code Academy. Today we will have 19 graduates. This is our first class, which started in January. Our goal is for them to get a job at one of these companies; if not, they will have a big impact on the market. We will, of course, continue this program. We will make sure that at least 20-25 students graduate once a year," she says.
How will all the initiatives be connected in one system?
The Orion Worldwide Innovations team has decided that such summits will be held in various countries of the world. The next one will be held in 2023 in New York, then in Frankfurt, and so on. Orion Worldwide Innovations takes steps to make Armenia’s companies and professionals better acquainted with and better understand that they are offered great opportunities in various fields of various countries, which Armenian specialists and Armenian companies definitely have the potential to use and implement them best.
Orion Worldwide Innovations opened an office in Armenia during the coronavirus pandemic in order to be more attentive to Armenia and not to miss the Armenian talent. "In fifteen months, we have been able to procure $27 million in investments for our Armenian companies from global venture companies. The three aforementioned companies—Embodied, cognaize, and Scylla—are going to enter the market for new investments. They have grown a lot and achieved great success in recent months. Our goal is to double the [$]27 million in 2022 and make it more than [$]50 million,” says Emma Arakelyan.