Armenia’s IT sector sees 29.6% growth in 2017, official says

Armenia’s information technology (IT) sector continues to grow, with positive dynamics observed in the sphere on a daily basis over the past ten years, a deputy minister of transport, communication and information technologies told a news conference on Tuesday.

Summing up the sector’s achievements in 2017, Amalya Yeghoyan noted the sphere recorded an increase of 29.6 percent, creating 281 new companies enjoying tax privileges. Technology centers have been established in Armenia’s major cities – Gyumri and Vanadzor.

The official says the development of the sector prompted the creation of numerous new jobs.

“2017 was a rather intensive year for the sphere, which created some 15,000 new jobs,” she said.

Amalya Yeghoyan says many new programs are planned for 2018, with the sphere set to focus more on deepening the cooperation between the private and public sectors, implementing new programs in Armenia’s regions, as well as developing cooperation with Artsakh.

“To note, we have about 25 [IT] companies operating in Gyumri. This is a good potential for regional development,” the deputy minister said.

She added 10% more jobs from 2017 are planned to be created this year.

“This is a sphere where vacancies exceed the number of available specialists. In this regard, technology education based on business needs is very important,” she said.