12th March 2019, Yerevan: Beeline Armenia and Microsoft Innovation Center Armenia launched new format product bootcamp last year, the purpose of which was to assist young people with innovative ideas to start technical entrepreneurship path and develop their start-ups.

Ten teams selected from dozens of applicants worked intensively with their mentors - experts, business development experts, received advice on the potential market, users, possible characteristics of their product. As a result of the work, they improved the initial ideas about their product and were able to present it to the jury consisting of the field best specialists, who later on chose the best two teams.

“It is always nice to see active, entrepreneurial, talented young people who consider current problems not as difficulties, but as opportunities, and offer their own solutions with the goal of improving people's lives. For our part, as a responsible company, we strive to support such young people as much as possible, and the joint program with the Microsoft Innovation Center is an excellent example of this support,” said Beeline Armenia CEO Andrey Pyatakhin.  

“Teams that are in the early stages of development, within the framework of the product bootcamp, were able to better understand their initial ideas and view them as a business product, needed from the point of view of customers. Thanks to the work with mentors and financial assistance, the two winning teams were able to create the first versions of their product, which are almost ready to enter the market,” said Microsoft Innovation Center Director Artashes Vardanyan.  

The Festival team, which had won 1.5 million AMD, developed the full version of the application for film festivals for Android and iOS systems as part of product bootcamp and is currently trying to use it for small film festivals. The Rendchain team, which had won 1 million AMD, managed to create the Beta version of their product, which combined the power of existing computers to create 3D materials more quickly and efficiently.

The teams still have a long way to go until they become a profitable and stable product on the market, but as a result of the product bootcamp, they managed to move a step further.

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For details, please contact:

Lusine Ghukasyan

Microsoft Innovation Center Armenia Lusine.ghukasyan@mic.am

About Microsoft Innovation Center Armenia

Microsoft Innovation Center Armenia began its activities in 2011 through the joint efforts of the “Enterprise Incubator” Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Microsoft corporation. Immediately after its creation, the Center joined innovation centers international network and began to actively work in the framework of initiatives undertaken by Microsoft to develop innovative and creative ideas around the world.