YEREVAN – The WITSA national competition was held in Armenia, where two of the nine participating startups were given a unique opportunity to showcase their solutions and compete on the international stage in 16 countries this fall. Startups Text’nPayMe and AllClean will represent Armenia at the WITSA World Cup 2024 in October.

The WITSA World Cup will take place as part of WCIT2024/DigiTec from October 4 to 7 in Yerevan, Armenia at the Karen Demirtchian Complex.

“I am very pleased to welcome you all on this significant day. Today we are at the forefront of innovation and technology development, and I am especially pleased that the World Congress on Innovation and Technology also provides an environment for Armenian startups to present their ideas and solutions on an international platform. I am confident that the selected innovative solutions will represent Armenia with great pride and attract the attention of the global tech community,” said Hayk Karapetyan, Executive Director of the WCIT2024//DigiTec Organizing Committee, in his welcoming speech.

The jury for the Armenian pre-selection stage of the WITSA World Cup national competition was introduced by Ruben Simonyan, Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry of Armenia, Dmitri Stepanov, Director of New Products at Yandex, Sona Mamyan, Growth Director at 10web․io, and Hayk Hayrapetyan, Founder of IMAST and Co-Founder of AI9.

Early-stage/Pre-Series A Armenian startups competed in the national finals for the opportunity to represent Armenia on the global platform. These startups showcase solutions in diverse fields such as medicine, healthcare, banking, commerce, digital ad optimization, and bionic hand technology.

The selection process for the national competition focused on five key evaluation criteria: innovation, customer acceptance, scalability, “tech for good” and potential.

Text’nPayMe is a fintech and deep-tech company specializing in innovative payment solutions for banks, fintechs, telcos and online stores. The payment keyboard integrates seamlessly into any app, enabling users to make secure and convenient transactions on their favorite social networks, messaging apps and beyond.

AllClean connects cleaning companies for private households with property managers and optimizes all processes.

This year, the international WITSA World Cup competition will feature 32 startups from 16 countries across six continents, providing a global platform for Armenian startups to compete and gain exposure. This event offers Armenian startups the opportunity to compete on a global stage, with a focus on innovation and the potential to develop impactful tech solutions.

The WITSA World Cup in Armenia is organized by the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises, SmartGateVC and Yandex as host for the Armenian national selection phase.

In May 2024, the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises of Armenia announced the hosting of the World Congress on Innovation and Technology (WCIT) 2024 in Armenia in close cooperation with DigiTec. Under the motto “THE POWER OF MIND: AI beyond borders, within ethics”, WCIT 2024/DigiTec will feature a high-profile congress program, B2B meetings, the WITSA World Cup for Scale-ups, innovation showcases, business presentations, workshops and more.

WCIT 2024/DigiTec Congress will provide a global stage to showcase the transformative power of information technologies and highlight the critical role of applied sciences, investments and their reach across different regions and economies. Recently, Armenia has emerged as a major technology hub, attracting a wave of global technology companies that have established their R&D offices and subsidiaries in the country.

The World Congress on Innovation and Technology is a global catalytic platform of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) – a consortium of over 80 information technology (IT) industry associations from economies around the world. For 40 years, technology leaders – CEOs and investors, policymakers and government officials, academics and technologists – have come together at this annual event to discuss the state of the industry, its evolution and its importance for our future. Past speakers include Bill Clinton, Vint Cerf, Bill Gates, Ginni Rometty, Larry Ellison, Anne Mulcahey, Faqir Chand Kohli and Michael Dell. For more information, visit the WCIT website or the WCIT Facebook page..

The World Innovation, Technology, and Services Alliance (WITSA) is an alliance of tech industry associations from 80 countries and economies. WITSA advocates for policies that promote industry growth and development, facilitate international trade and investment in tech products and services, strengthen WITSA members’ national industry associations, and provide members with a broad network of professional contacts. WITSA’s global platform, the World Congress on Innovation & Technology, is the leading global industry-sponsored tech conference. For more information, visit the WITSA website.

The Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises represents over 160 high-tech companies in Armenia, including both local and international firms. UATE aims to drive industry growth through key initiatives: introducing comprehensive technology education across Armenia (Armath Engineering Makerspaces), facilitating global market access, and sharing expertise through organized delegations. In addition, UATE exerts significant influence in the legal field through policymaking and government cooperation, fostering a competitive yet collaborative business environment.

UATE is known for organizing large events that highlight Armenia’s technological advancements. For example, it hosted WCIT in 2019 and will do so again in 2024. It has also organized the DigiTec Expo annually for nearly 20 years, showcasing innovations to local and global audiences. Through these efforts, UATE continues to strengthen Armenia’s presence in the global technology landscape. For more information, visit the UATE website.

Digitec exhibition is an annual event organized by the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises since 2005, showcasing Armenia’s technology potential, innovation and prospects. With up to 80,000 visitors per year, the exhibition serves as a platform to explore global technology trends. Digitec is constantly evolving. In 2023, UATE organized two simultaneous exhibitions, each with 120 companies and over 100 speakers. By the end of 2023, participating companies have completed over 100 million AMD worth of transactions during Digitec2023.

DigiTec 2024 is scheduled to take place this year from October 4 to 6 at the “Meridian” Expo Center (Voskerichinen 1, Yerevan).

To learn more, visit the DigiTec website, Facebook page, Instagram page and YouTube channel.