Economy

Around the world, the role and power of the private sector is increasing in both global, as well as local markets. Businesses are increasingly being seen as important players in social and economic development on every level. Armenia is no exception.

Very often, we don’t pay proper attention to the things that are close by. We will never plan a visit by our own to a museum in our home country and enjoy it when we have enough time, enough options and enough possibilities. Why we should always hurry to visit a museum? The recent example. Crossing over the Victory Bridge in Yerevan in the hard day’s evening and I caught myself that I had never visited the Yerevan Brandy Company’s museum, one of the most visited tourist attractions in Armenia. After all, it is better late than never, right? The hour that I spent there was an hour of Revelations that what it was.

Gyumri Project Hope (GPH) is a non-profit urban planning foundation established in 2015, focused on the improvement of Gyumri in various sectors to eliminate the depopulation crisis of the city, by restoring social and economic stability for the region. In October 2016 GPH presented its concept paper “Strategic Redevelopment of Gyumri”. This concept is a joint initiative of GPH main donors: AGBU, ARS, IDeA Foundation and the Kololian Foundation. Below are some excerpts from the report about renovation of Gyumri’s some significant sights.

Shirak region. What is it associated with? Good food and humor? Or maybe an earthquake, poverty and harsh climate? How about rucola, green basil, sage and other food items, mostly seen in the upscale restaurants and supermarkets of Yerevan. Or even tomato, cucumber and pepper. The latter seems especially significant to Shirak – the locals call Yerevan residents ‘bibar krtsogh’ or ‘pepper gnawers’, and the legend says that this is because no peppers grow in Shirak and locals are simply envious! But just a few months ago the situation has changed dramatically: new and experimental greenhouses built in Shirak seem to have caused an agricultural revolution in the region.

The Armenia Investment Forum 2016 took place in New York City on October 10-11th, 2016 under the high patronage and with the participation of H.E. Serzh Sargsyan, President of the Republic of Armenia. The event was organized by the Development Foundation of Armenia (DFA), Armenia’s national authority for investment, export and tourism promotion. DFA facilitates investment plans into Armenia, helps domestic firms export goods, and promotes the country’s many tourist attractions.

The American-Armenian businessman Levon Der-Bedrossian had been dreaming about establishing himself in Armenia for many years. In 2014 he made his dream come true and founded the Silk Road hotel in the Aygedzor district of Yerevan. Simultaneously he established the The Folk Arts Foundation. Its main goal is to revive the art of Armenian national crafts, especially carpet weaving.

The time for easy growth in the country is long foregone. The new reality of the economy is here, and it requires the business and economic elite to move to its next level of thinking, to make some hard choices and adapt. In this article we point to the main investment themes that have the potential of high returns for possible investors, and can eventually help turnaround the economy today.

Summarizing results of the first quarter century of Armenia's independence in various spheres