EU supported IRIS Business Incubator (BI) announces the total amount of investments with loans and grants disbursed in 2020 to its residents.
Thanks to the 1st incubation cycle, IRIS BI team and experts master classes, IRIS Academy workshops, Jury Team independent and impartial advice, and surely the individual hard work as well as funding, today IRIS BI winner residents have achieved significant success. The first of the major achievements of IRIS BI during 2020 is the 44 winner residents with their bright ideas and businesses. The second significant achievement is the overview of overall financial support during 2020 to business.
It is worth mentioning that approximately 66’000 EUR in loans and 141’000 EUR in grants have been disbursed during the year 2020․ Moreover, the funding amount will grow next year.
"Overcoming all the ups and downs of the year 2020 the IRIS Business Incubator has proved that it allocates the importance of both providing proper skills and expert consultancy to all our residents and surely supporting the growth of the businesses for Armenian economic stability and development. And our biggest achievement now is to see how our resident’s businesses flourish," said Narine Terzyan, Executive Director.
The IRIS BI has been established in 2019 by the "Armenian Caritas" Benevolent NGO and "SME Cooperation Association" NGO within the framework of the "Increased Resilience of Syrian Armenians and Host Population" (IRIS) programme. The programme is funded by European Union through the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, the EU "MADAD" Fund, Austrian Development Cooperation, and Austrian Red Cross and is being implemented by the consortium led by the Austrian Red Cross and consisting of "Armenian Caritas" Benevolent NGO, Armenian Red Cross Society, Centre for Coordination of Syrian Armenians’ Issues and "SME Cooperation Association" NGO.
The overall budget of the EU funded IRIS Programme is € 3,3 million (€3 million funded by the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, the “Madad” Fund), out of which € 1,9 million are allocated for the IRIS BI founded in the framework of the programme’s economic integration component. The funding, worth in total € 1,9 million, will support Syrian-Armenians and local entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop effective management of newly established and existing ventures operating in diverse economic sectors in Armenia.
The IRIS Business Incubator aims to become a tool for the sustainable development of future generations of start-ups and will stimulate the culture of entrepreneurship by bringing positive change to the business culture of Armenia through innovative approaches. The mission of the IRIS Business Incubator is to enhance the economic integration of Syrian-Armenians and the local population through raising the competitiveness of the local economy by stimulating innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in Armenia.
