In cooperation with the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia, with the funding of the UK Government's Good Governance Fund, with the support of the EBRD and coordinated by the Business Support Office, the Green Growth for SMEs in Armenia project has been launched.

According to the Business Support Office, the overall goal of the project is to increase the competitiveness of Armenian SMEs by identifying opportunities for greener growth, better managing environmental risks, and supporting Armenia's natural capital and environment.

The green economy in Armenia is considered a new engine of growth. The Government of the Republic of Armenia strives to ensure that the economy meets environmental standards in order to remain stable, flexible and secure.

In this context, the Business Support Office coordinates the project by involving experts to develop an ac Action Plan for SMEs in Armenia on how to help preserve Armenia's natural capital, enhance people's environmental well-being by supporting environmental action, and showcasing greener growth opportunities by creating mechanisms to better manage risks and impacts on the environment, thus making Armenian SMEs more competitive.

The Action 2.1.6 of the 2020-2024 SME Development Strategy Action Plan, approved by the Government of the Republic of Armenia, requires the mapping and promotion of Green Technology Support Tools used by SMEs. The two interested state bodies in the RA Government are the RA Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Environment.

The project envisages research on possible principles and mechanisms of green growth, including the application of the principle of gender equality, which may be included in the business activities carried out by SMEs in Armenia. It is also planned to conduct a detailed analysis of the issues of integration of green economy principles in SMEs in Armenia. There are also roadmap suggestions on how to integrate green growth mechanisms and principles and access to green finance for SMEs in Armenia.

The project envisages the following:

- Identify and map the existing green financing instruments for Armenian SMEs

- Road map and action plan development for the green growth integration of Armenian SMEs, including the steps to ensure gender equality shall be prepared.

- Introduction of recommendations for Armenian SMEs on the structural integration of the green growth mechanisms into their business activities.

- Conduction of trainings in each province of Armenia which have the highest growth opportunity in case green growth mechanisms are integrated in their business activities

“The impact of the project will be measurable through developing an action plan for SMEs in Armenia to identify and unlock opportunities for greener growth through the introduction of better climate-related risk management, green transition opportunities and green financing. Overall, the project will contribute to raising awareness amongst Armenian SMEs about the risks and opportunities of green transition and integrate green economic transition into the broader governmental policy agenda,” the statement says.