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Armenia-Turkey Investor Day
28.04.2017
Armenia | Public Journalism Club, The Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey
The Public Journalism Club (PJC) and the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV), in cooperation with Angel Labs, the world’s first investor accelerator based in Silicon Valley, will conduct the first-ever Armenia-Turkey Investor Day. The launch of the event is planned on May 2, 2017. The event is aimed at promoting the idea of creation of a sustainable angel investing ecosystem in Armenia and Turkey, introduction of various formats of investor networks, as well as best international practices.
 
According to Seda Muradyan, head of the PJC, “Angel investors - wealthy individuals who offer capital to start-ups with the potential for fast growth - are an increasingly important source of capital to early stage companies. Some studies show that since the recent financial crisis and continued global economic decline, angel investors have been playing a vital role in filling financial gaps left by banks and venture capital firms. However, many angel investors are private about their deals, and getting them to work via such formal networks can be difficult. This also holds true for Armenia. The objective of our initiative is to support those who are willing to further develop Armenia's start-up and investment ecosystem, by forming an angel investors network. Such networks do successfully exist worldwide, and our aim is to introduce this concept in Armenia and Turkey, as well as promote cooperation between angels from these countries for implementation of joint projects.”

Armenia-Turkey Investor Day

The Armenia-Turkey Investor Day initiative is unique in a sense that it will promote the concept of institutionalization of Angel Investors network in Armenia, support the entrepreneurial ecosystem, connect entrepreneurs with Angel Investors, and encourage the establishment of lasting and profitable relationships between investors and entrepreneurs.

Armenian representatives of ICT industry and business networks interested in investing will be able to learn about the best practices of creating investment networks, the mechanics of angel investing, as well as about favourable legal conditions in Europe and the US.
 
“While initiating this program three years ago, we started with an “Exchange of Entrepreneurs” programme because we believe successful and trained entrepreneurs are the backbone of healthy Start-up Ecosystems. Three years of successful exchanges between the two countries brought us to the point where we decided that it is time to also focus on other stakeholders within the ecosystem and design a program for angels and investors. With this very first Turkey-Armenia-US-Germany Investor Day, we would like to launch a joint angel investor network. It will finance entrepreneurs and new ideas through engaging in development initiatives, balancing power with investors and raising enough capital to confront competitors who have grown elsewhere,” says Cansu Sarac, a political expert at TEPAV.

Monty Mannford, a reporter with leading American financial magazine Forbes, will also be among the attendees of the event and will produce a report about his visit to Armenia.
 
The guests of the event

Tugce Ergul, Director of Angel Labs, a global investor accelerator, based in Silicon Valley; Harald Braunstein, Founding Partner at German NFQ Capital; Alana Tung of Delivery Hero, based in Berlin; Ertan Can, Investment Director at HR Ventures in Frankfurt; and Duygu Oktem of DO Consultancy LLC, based in Istanbul will be among members of the delegation arriving in Armenia. They will introduce the best international practices in angel investing, establish connections and share their experience with Armenian colleagues.
 
The representatives of the delegation are also interested in discovering investment opportunities and recent advances in the ICT sector in Armenia. With this in mind, they will have a number of meetings with their Armenian colleagues on May 1-3.

Opening Ceremony

The event will take place at Radisson Blu Hotel at 10:00 (located at 2/2 Azatutyan Ave., Yerevan, Armenia). Seda Muradyan, President of PJC, Cansu Sarac, Political Expert from TEPAV, and Tugce Ergul, Director of Angel Labs, as well as Jean-Francois Charpentier,  the Ambassador  Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the French Republic to the Republic of Armenia  and Rafael Sambu, Economic and Commercial officer at the US Embassy in Armenia will deliver welcome speeches at the opening ceremony.

Nadia Lichtenberg, Deputy Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Republic of Armenia and Martin Fredriksson, Charge d' Affairs of the Embassy of Sweden in Armenia will be among the honorary guests of the opening ceremony.
 
The live stream of the official opening ceremony of Armenia-Turkey Investor Day can be viewed on PJC Facebook page.  
 
Investment Ecosystems in Armenia and Turkey: Discussion

As part of the event, the representatives of the ICT sector in Armenia and Turkey will hold a discussion on the prospects of investment in the ICT and start-up ecosystems in their countries.
 
Bagrat Yengibaryan, director of the Enterprise Incubator Foundation (Armenia),  Matt Bartelsian, Business Development Director, VOLO (Armenia) and Cansu Sarac, political expert at TEPAV (Turkey), will be the panellists of the discussion.

The meeting is an invite-only event for a limited number of participants. The event is open to media.

Meeting with ICT Start-ups

On May 2, at 17:30, the main event will be followed by one-hour Meeting with ICT Startups.
 
The Armenian start-up companies will be given an unmatched opportunity to meet with prominent venture capitalists, angel investors from Silicon Valley, Germany and Turkey, address their questions to investors, get valuable tips on attracting investments, launching successful entrepreneurship, as well as establish connections and pitch their own start-ups.

The Investor Day is a free entrance event designed for all representatives of ICT start-ups. 

***

For interviews and further information on the participation in the Meeting with ICT Startups, media representatives can contact Gohar Akelyan, PJC’s Armenia-Turkey Project Coordinator, at +37494515585, email: [email protected] or Lilit Arakelyan, Editor/Coordinator of PJC’s Media Center Project at +37455190708, email: [email protected].
 
Armenia-Turkey Investor Day is initiated by the Public Journalism Club  and the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey  as a part of Exchange of Entrepreneurs  project within the framework of the Programme Support to the Armenia-Turkey Normalisation Process: Stage 2  funded by the European Union.
 
ABOUT PJC
 
The Public Journalism Club (PJC) is a non-governmental organization, established in March 2011 in Armenia. PJC’s projects aim at the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, development of democratic environment and civil society, as well as building regional dialogue and peace through innovative ideas.
 
In realisin our mission and core values, we are guided by the principles of promotion of media literacy, freedom of expression, diversity and pluralism, raising awareness among the society in Armenia, as well as addressing social issues through trailblazing and ambitious projects. 
We envision a more democratic, prosperous and sustainable Armenia, which encourages social activism and endorses a more cooperative, educated and competitive society. 
 
ABOUT TEPAV
 
The Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey  is a non-partisan, non-profit think tank based in Ankara, Turkey. TEPAV was established in 2004 as an independent research institute, and is Turkey’s largest economic policy think-tank employing highly talented researchers and experts. TEPAV’s mission is to develop innovative policy strategies for public and private sector development within Turkey and the surrounding region. TEPAV’s interdisciplinary approach focuses on fostering competitive business environment, improving regional development within Turkey and supporting international economic integration.
 
 
ABOUT ANGEL LABS
 
Since its first programme, Angel Labs  has created over thousands of next generation angel investors, VCs & LPs and have expanded to more than 40 countries. Each month Angel Labs runs diverse, industry-focused programs in more countries than any other investor accelerator in the world. All programmes are located in global hubs where the batches are provided with resources, top mentors, co-investors, strategic partners and potential investments.

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