HORMETLI RAMIN MUELLIM –Dear Mr. Ramin Guluzade, (Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies)

Dear Mr. Farid Jafarov (Executive Director of the Azerbaijan Youth Foundation)

Distinguished Guests and students,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

SALAM! (hello)

It is my utmost pleasure to greet you all today at the very first and critical event of this year’s edition of the Innovation Week, the largest high tech event of a year that we are jointly organizing with the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies. Starting from right now, you’ll be part of a number of exiting events that will continue until 24 October. The InnoWeek this year will bring to you a series of groundbreaking events including the Idea to Business Startup Tours Final where we are gathered right now with all of you. But there will be much more than just that: the Roboday, the Baku E-Trade Forum, and Innovation Award Ceremony.

Today I want to take the opportunity to also acknowledge another important historic day that this country celebrates and congratulate each and every one of you with the Independence Day in Azerbaijan! I wish you all a bright and promising future ahead!

Coming back to the InnoWeek, indeed today we are celebrating a big milestone! For 2 consecutive years, we have been going from region to region to pass a key message to the young people out there. That was that business is key to development, that innovation and technology coupled with entrepreneurial pursuit can have a larger impact on societies, both in terms of direct financial gains and indirect benefits. Altogether, where technology and innovative solutions merge with business interest, there is greater social connection, cohesion and inclusivity, giving people more freedom to turn their ideas into action, grow personally and professionally and be active members of the society where they belong. That is for me exactly what we have done together with all of you here –during the long, tedious, but very exciting and highly rewarding Idea to Business (I2B) journey.

I first of all want to congratulate the participants of this national final who are gathered here today –all the 10 competing teams who won the Road to the I2B Final from among the total of 175 teams. Today we will have three winning teams in the end, and I personally look forward to hearing your pitches and in fact learning from your ideas. No matter who wins though, I want to also reach out to all this impressive cohort of more than 2000 people and 175 teams from 12 different parts of Azerbaijan who have been part of this journey with us. I hope some of them are here today and will cheer their counterparts who are yet to pitch at the Finals. I want you all know that we as UNDP -and I am sure our partners from the Government will share the same sentiment with me –are proud of each and every one of you! Learning how turn dry ideas into bankable businesses is not easy at any age. And you all - you are just at the starting point of your career, but you already learnt this important life lesson. All of you who’ve been part of this programme –no matter who wins in the end and who doesn’t – you have learnt exactly that: how to grow ideas that turn into flourishing businesses, and maybe even we all will have to learn this skill from you!  The “I2B” contest has created enormous opportunities for the youth in these 12 regions (from Mingachevir to Lankaran, Guba, Sumqayit, Nakhchivan, Shaki, Ganja and Baku) to come together, network, brainstorm, exchange ideas and learn to pitch their business projects, with support from experienced mentors.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I want to specifically reiterate here that UNDP and the Government of Azerbaijan put information and communication technologies at the centrepiece of the broader development work we do in the country.

At UNDP we see innovation as an engine of development and growth both within the state and society, and we witness today how the Government of Azerbaijan is making necessary investments in various fields pursuant to its commitment to support the diversification of economy and the development of non-oil sector. Azerbaijan is capitalising on knowledge-based and innovative economy to ensure further strengthening of Azerbaijan’s leading position in the ICT sector.

Our collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies is tapping exactly on that and here I would like to take a moment to convey my sincere gratitude to Minister Ramin Guluzade for the pivotal role he personally and his Ministry played in supporting this collaboration and building trust among our institutions. COKH SAG OLUN RAMIN MUELLIM! (Thank you very much, Mr. Ramin Guluzade!)

In fact, the I2B tours are part of a larger project we jointly implement with the Ministry on the modernisation of sustainability and efficiency of ICT infrastructure and ICT services in Azerbaijan. Within this project, UNDP has also provided overall assistance for developing a national concept and innovation infrastructure for knowledge-based and innovative economy.

As part of this project, we are also developing the country’s robotics potential and promoting the crucial importance of science, technology and research through STEM programmes. From building smart cities and Robolabs to the establishment of data centres, promoting internet governance and cyber security –our project is tapping on an unmet demand in all of these sectors. Like I said before, the “Idea to Business” initiative, in particular, assists new entrepreneurs who can bring new ideas to the table, much needed to stir innovation and generate competition.   

For the next year we are interested in further expansion of I2B target area together with the Ministry in new regions of Azerbaijan. Today I see only winners in this hall and regardless the results of the final at the end of this evening you all deserve big round of applause for working on your unique ideas and sharing them with us.

Thank you very much! COKH SAG OLUN!