Yerevan named among world's 25 up-and-coming startup citiesMarch 7, 2019 - 12:11 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian capital of Yerevan has been named one of 25 up-and-coming startup cities projected to grow into the hubs of the future, says a report by Valuer, a Danish matchmaking tool for startups and corporations. Moreover, Yerevan is placed the 6th on the list, with advantages including online business registration, low crime rate, low overhead cost. Corruption and limited access to funding, meanwhile, are among the disadvantages cited by the platform. "Most people would probably not expect Yerevan to appear so high on this list, but the city and the country overall are making leaps in order to promote economic growth. Business leaders are beginning to recognize Armenia as a hotspot for IT development and innovation, and as a consequence, the country has a rapidly growing startup scene," the source says. "Self-described as the “Silicon Mountains”, the number of software startups quadrupled between 2015 and 2017 to reach approximately 280. The government is legislating to facilitate further growth of this market, offering a five-year tax break for startups and creating two free economic zones in Yerevan in which tech startups can operate without paying VAT, property tax, income tax, or export customs duty. "These reforms have seen the tech industry grow by 20% annually, exploding compared to Armenia’s overall economic growth (hovering at 2%). The large US tech corporations in Armenia are also funding educational programs, further developing Yerevan’s talent pool. With the industry accounting for 15% of Armenia’s exports, the startup scene here is only expected to continue to grow." Here is a list of all the cities that made it to the top 25: 25. Boulder, Colorado 24. Dallas, Texas 23. Bratislava, Slovakia 22. Mumbai, India 21. San Diego, California 20. Mexico City, Mexico 19. Edinburgh, Scotland 18. Miami, Florida 17. Krakow, Poland 16. Moscow, Russia 15. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 14. Turin, Italy 13. Hamburg, Germany 12. Chicago, Illinois 11. Antwerp, Belgium 10. Cardiff, Wales 9. Salt Lake City, Utah 8. Zagreb, Croatia 7. Rotterdam, the Netherlands 6. Yerevan, Armenia 5. Riga, Latvia 4. Portland, Oregon 3. Ljubljana, Slovenia 2. Tallinn, Estonia 1. Wroclaw, Poland Related links: Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |