YSU BI launches initiative to fund social impact startups

At the beginning of the year, C-Quadrat Ampega Asset Management Armenia announced the launch of a groundbreaking initiative: Social Investment Fund.

The Social Fund aims to foster socio-economic growth in Armenia and contribute to the development of a social impact investment ecosystem, as well as invest in social enterprises and sponsor startup ideas that can have a significant impact on solving socio-economic and environmental challenges in Armenia.

As part of the initiative, the YSU Business Incubator has partnered with the company to support both university and non-university startups with social impact, fostering a new culture of innovation and social responsibility.

Director of YSU Business Incubator, Professor Ruben Gevorgyan, speaking about the incubation project, elaborated: "It's important to note that social orientation is a rather broad concept, including ecological issues, healthcare, education, tourism, and more. Our focus was on startup ideas offering innovative solutions to these and related fields, or simply ideas aimed at their development."

Out of the 17 teams participating in the project, 12 were selected to present their ideas to the committee members. From these presentations, the top 6 teams were chosen to bring their startup ideas to life in the coming months.

"The committee members represented the three companies that initiated the project. Numerous interesting projects were presented, spanning a variety of fields with ideas that showcased potential for implementation. It's worth noting that the teams that weren't selected also presented compelling ideas and were well-prepared. As a result, we announced our intention to work with them through the YSU Business Incubator," said Ruben Gevorgyan.  

From using drones to appear in Niagara Falls from Armenia to enhancing the efficiency of solar panels - these were just two of the business ideas. Such interesting ideas were presented both by university students and representatives of other institutions.

Speaking about the importance of YSU participation in this project, the director of YSU Business Incubator emphasized: "The university participates in this kind of project for the first time, and this is an important experience. Today, there are many interesting ideas in the academic sphere, and we are trying to create a circle that will give an opportunity to generate and develop these business ideas within our university." 

It's noteworthy that YSU Business Incubator initiated lectures on "Leadership and Innovation", "Market Analysis", and "Social Entrepreneurship" for 6 selected teams, featuring specialists from YSU and beyond. Future lectures will delve into marketing, project management, program management, and other relevant topics. The course is designed to assist startup organizations in progressing from ideation to funding readiness within the incubation process. 

One of the primary goals of YSU Business Incubator is to create an academic environment conducive to the commercialization of scientific results from various faculties, generate and accelerate ideas originating within the university, transforming them into scientific, educational, industrial, and technological outcomes. Additionally, the incubator provides support for the collection and development of innovative ideas.