On February 17, 2010 a delegation from the World Bank and the Armenian Ministry of the Economy visited the Gyumri IT Center (GTech). They met with representatives of several Gyumri and Yerevan-based businesses. During the session, meeting attendees discussed business issues related to the development of an IT industry in the northern region of Armenia.
In order to expand Armenia’s IT sector from Yerevan to the regions, the government plans to build a techno park in Gyumri. Economic Minister Nerses Yeritsyan expressed his belief that FAR’s GTech plays an important role in realizing a regional IT base. Currently, GTech is the only successfully operating entity in northern Armenia that has found employment opportunities for those in the IT sector, and attracted businesses to a region starved for employers. GTech maintains a program that delivers well-paying jobs through a combination of market-based education, new business incubation and business collaboration, resulting in the strengthened economic viability of an entire region.
Gurgen Paronyan, the executive director of GTech, noted that “GTech has already proven its basic concept of providing a workforce for technology companies that want to open branches in Gyumri. GITC will also be able to develop products for companies which are interested in outsourcing development to locations that can produce quality products within a very competitive budget.” The representatives from the World Bank mentioned that 24 million USD will be targeted to the development of IT infrastructure in Yerevan, including the techno park project.