Announcements

Syunik Sustainable Economic Development Initiative (SSEDI)

Start-ups, established MSMEs, and idea-level initiatives from Syunik region.

Direct Beneficiaries: At least 120 individuals, including aspiring and active entrepreneurs.

Target Groups: Start-ups, established MSMEs with growth potential, and idea-level initiatives.

Specific Focus Groups: There is a prioritized focus on women (at least 30% of supported businesses), youth aged 18-40 (at least 40%), and vulnerable groups, including forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) and people with disabilities (PWDs).

Indirect Beneficiaries: Approximately 500-600 individuals, including the families of business owners and newly hired employees, who will benefit from job creation and regional economic growth.

Project Areas:  Syunik region, Armenia

The project specifically targets three high-growth industry sectors: 

• Agro-processing.
• Manufacturing.
• Tourism & Hospitality.

The goal of the project: 

The overarching goal of the Syunik Sustainable Economic Development Initiative (SSEDI) is to stimulate sustainable economic development and enhance socio-economic resilience in the Syunik region of Armenia.

The project aims to reduce the region’s economic dependence on mining and resource extraction by diversifying the local economy. This can be achieved by fostering an inclusive entrepreneurial environment that prioritizes the creation of jobs, start-ups, and improved livelihoods. By integrating sustainable resource management and improving access to both financial products and non-financial business development services, the initiative seeks to leverage the region's unique potentials to ensure long-term, diversified, and resilient prosperity.

Objectives:

• Economic Diversification: Supporting the growth of the agro-processing, manufacturing, and tourism sectors.
• Capacity Building: Enhancing the business management skills and digital literacy of at least 120 entrepreneurs.
• Job Creation: Creating at least 50 new jobs, with a target of at least 20% of these positions being filled by women.
• Business Support: Facilitating the establishment of at least 34 new businesses through seed grants.
• Access to Finance: Improving MSMEs' ability to secure affordable financing through partnerships and JMF's Revolving Fund.
• Sustainability: Ensuring at least 50% of supported businesses adopt sustainable resource management and climate-resilient practices.
• Institutional Presence: Establishing a new service provider in the region via the JMF branch office in Goris to provide long-term support.

* The "Syunik Sustainable Economic Development Initiative" project is implemented within the framework of the R2D Syunik program. The R2D Syunik program is co-financed by the European Union and the International Partnerships Austria, and is implemented by the Austrian Development Agency within the framework of the "Resilient Syunik Team Europe Initiative".

“The Resilient Syunik Team Europe” initiative is the joint undertaking of the European Union, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, EU Member states - Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland also joining as an external partner. The initiative aims to contribute to the sustainable socioeconomic development of the Syunik region.