Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) subsidiary “Entrepreneur + State” Investments Fund is making a joint investment in a new project with "Eco Fresh" LLC.

ANIF said in a news release that "Eco Fresh" is one of the leading companies in Armenia producing champignon mushrooms. The product is sold in Armenia and the United Arab Emirates.

The compost intended for the mushrooms was previously imported from the Netherlands, which was significantly increasing the cost of the product and reducing efficiency. With a joint project, the company plans to establish a compost plant for growing mushrooms in Armenia, with an initial productivity of 50-60 tons per week.

The total cost of the investment project is more than 894 million AMD, of which about 287 million AMD is the investment of the "Entrepreneur + State" investment fund.

Director of the "Entrepreneur + state" Investment Fund Bella Manoukian said: "The Fund is keen to see continuous development of the agricultural sector of Armenia. This is our second investment project in the sector, promoting effective use of new technologies. Armenia has the opportunity to increase its presence in dynamically changing international markets and this project is another step towards increasing the competitiveness of Armenian agricultural export."

According to "Eco Fresh" company founder Tiran Hakobyan, the willingness of the state to invest in business initiatives and to contribute to the introduction of new technologies is more than appreciated.

"We will reach several important goals with this joint project with ANIF: we will import new Dutch technologies by building a new factory, which will allow us to have competitive products in the local and export markets. With the success of the project, we will further increase production volumes to gain new markets, creating new jobs, while with growing volumes we will further reduce the cost of products," he said.