Azerbaijan set to rival China in souvenir market

By Azernews

By Amina Nazarli

The Center for Simplified Support to Family Business (ABAD) helps producers of souvenirs in Azerbaijan to create branded products that will compete with Chinese goods, said Rufat Elchiyev, the director of the legal entity of public law ABAD. 

Elchiyev, talking to Trend, said that families get comprehensive support at all stages of the business, from branding and registration of the enterprise to accessing the markets.

 “We help the family business to stand on its feet and support entrepreneurs at all stages, from brand formation and business plan development to the sale of goods. Now for us the main areas are decorative and applied arts and agriculture. In this regard, the most important issue is that we are creating an alternative to imported products. On each product that our customers will manufacture, there will be an ABAD label - a guarantor of high quality,” Elchiyev said.

ABAD was created by the presidential decree dated September 23, 2016, and currently, this is a pilot project that started with nine families in Masalli region and 12 families in Balakan region of Azerbaijan. The project is planned to be expanded to other regions of the country in the future.

Elchiyev stressed that one of the tasks of ABAD is to help people gain confidence to create their own business.

"We help families register their business, get a taxpayer identification number (TIN), provide the necessary legal assistance," he said.

In the near future, ABAD plans to open a store in the Duty Free Zone of Heydar Aliyev International Airport for the sale of souvenirs and other products produced by family enterprises. Currently, the products are on sale at a shop located in Icherisheher (Old City.)

The main buyers of ABAD store are foreign tourists. "Most often our products are bought by tourists, but local residents are also interested in them. Especially those, who go to visit their friends or relatives in another country," he said.

Elchiev said that the second direction for ABAD, except decorative and applied art, is agriculture. "ABAD was established in September last year, when the seedtime season has not yet begun. During this period, we conducted preparatory work in order to introduce agro products into the market in 2017," he said.

He mentioned that different types of cheese and sausages are among the agro products.

Elchiyev further noted that the opening of online ABAD Store is planned and work on its creation is underway. "It's not enough just to create a website, it's important that the site has the necessary infrastructure behind it, you need to work out a lot of different things. So now it's hard to say when we finish all the work and launch it," he said.

ABAD is ready to help family businesses in Azerbaijan to export their products abroad, Elchiyev said. “The Azerbaijani market is not big. We are well aware that sooner or later our customers’ family businesses can grow and get ready for export. In this case, we will assist them in exporting their products abroad,” he said.