The State Interest Fund of Armenia, ANIF, presents the new ARFI investment crowdfunding platform. It will be a tool for attracting investments in the electronic environment, enabling both local businesses to attract financing and investors from all over the world to participate in Armenian projects with potential. The platform's name is an abbreviation of the phrase "Armenia Financed," which means financed Armenia.

In a conversation with "Armenpress," Director of ARFI Investment Company Edgar Evoyan spoke about the platform's possibilities, features, and proposals.

- Armenia's state interest fund, ANIF, presents the new ARFI (Armenia Financed) investment crowdfunding platform. Recently, ARFI received a license from the central bank. How was the idea of the platform born?

- As you know, ANIF was founded to implement large-scale projects in Armenia with the largest foreign investors and institutional partners. The main goal is to promote the flow of private capital to the economy of Armenia by investing the funds of state origin.

During the activity, the ANIF team recorded demand in several directions.

Initially, relatively more minor companies and projects that did not meet the conditions of ANIF and the entrepreneur-state anti-crisis fund applied to ANIF.

At the same time, individual investors were interested in making small-scale investments in financed projects.

As a result, ANIF's management had an idea to create a tool for attracting investments in the electronic environment, enabling both local businesses to attract financing and investors from all over the world to participate in potential Armenian projects. The name is an abbreviation of the phrase "Armenia Financed," which means financed Armenia.

By the decision of the November 29 session of the Board of the Central Bank of RA, ARFI Investment Company, the platform operator, was registered and licensed. Since that day, cooperation with companies and acceptance of applications has started. Work is also being done with several world-famous Armenians to involve them in the ARFI platform's activities in various formats. Investments in the platform will be possible from the beginning of 2023.

- ARFI is the first investment crowdfunding platform in Armenia and is a novelty for Armenian society. What is the venue?

-ARFI is an online platform for over-the-counter securities transactions. What does it mean? Until recently, only publicly traded securities were generally available to investors worldwide. Fairly strict conditions are required to enter the stock exchange, which already developed big companies mostly meet. However, before going public, companies generally raised capital in several rounds, only available to a few investors. Similar platforms solve this problem, and ARFI is the first in Armenia, the purpose of which is to allow companies to attract capital investments in the online environment on the one hand and, on the other hand, to enable investors to acquire a share in business projects with great potential.

- As you noticed, the platform aims to develop the business environment in Armenia. Are there target areas that will receive more attention, or will it involve all areas?

- There is no targeting by sector. Instead, profitable business projects from the point of view of investors will be targeted, which will have a multiplier effect on economic growth from the point of view of macroeconomics.

- What opportunities will the platform give to business people, and who can apply?

- The platform allows business people not only to attract capital from a large number of investors but to advertise it for free and have many ambassadors who will promote the company's production.

In the initial period, we did not set strict restrictions for applying. The goal is to include IT startup projects with great potential.

However, in the future, we plan to use a small questionnaire, and the result of answering, the business owner, will find out whether he should apply to the platform.

- I would like to know the conditions for getting involved in the platform. Are there any restrictions or mandatory requirements?

- The main restrictions are legislative. For example, only joint-stock companies can issue shares on the platform, and LLCs and private limited companies are forced to reorganize into joint-stock companies. The following limitation is that investments can only be made through the platform in AMD. Also, there is a limit on the maximum amount within a year, which amounts to 2.5 billion drams.

- What will the use of the platform bring to Armenia?

-Imagine that most of our Diaspora Armenians and other foreign investors have invested in the platform and have already seen its benefits.

Naturally, the confidence to make other investments in Armenia will increase, so why not also about creating your initiative in Armenia? It is one thing to hear about some success from afar; it is another to experience and reap its benefits personally.

On the other hand, it is an opportunity for companies and potential business ideas to find funding and move forward.

- Why choose the ARFI platform? What are the possibilities and features of the platform?

- We have already talked about the general features of the platform. One of the technical features is the online investment process, including registering investors' property in the Central Depository of Armenia. Next is online screening and identification of companies and investors.

Proper protection of customer data is also an important feature. We are also planning to pass ISO certification shortly, meeting all internationally accepted norms of IT security.

- The first question readers may have while reading this interview is how reliable and independent the platform is.

- We guarantee that in case of investment in any project, after the successful completion of financing, the property rights of those investors will be appropriately registered in the Central Depository of Armenia. We also guarantee that if the funding does not reach the minimum threshold, the investor will get back the money he invested. Moreover, before transferring to the company, investors' money is in particular bank accounts, which are protected from the risk of bankruptcy.

The company uses its best efforts to exclude business fraudsters from receiving funding through the platform.
The study of business projects is carried out from the point of view of investors' interests. The selection is carried out by the investment committee based on the evaluation of several criteria.

In the case of approving a business project, the platform guarantees that any information available to the platform operator and essential for the investor to make a decision will not be hidden and will be transparently presented on the platform.

However, the operator cannot guarantee the business project's success, which is objective. It does not mean that ANIF will not co-finance these projects. The possibility of co-financing business projects by ANIF on the ARFI platform is currently under discussion.

- We often hear that the potential of the diaspora for investments and business projects is not used in Armenia. The platform can become a perfect tool, investors can become representatives of the Armenian diaspora, and in this way, the Armenia-Diaspora business ties will be further strengthened.

-Yes, you are right. Our compatriots living in the diaspora will be our target in marketing. Here I would like to mention one more thing. In addition to the actual investments, so-called online road shows and webinars are planned, where Armenian companies will present their projects to the platform users, mostly Diaspora Armenian investors. They will talk about the product market and the general business environment during that presentation. As a result, our compatriots will hear from the front line about the business environment in Armenia, which will fill the information gap that we have today. I am sure that very few people abroad know about today's tax benefits for several essential industries. This dialogue will also help us to receive applications from abroad to establish a new business in Armenia and be financed through us.

Gayane Gaboyan