The development of the digital economy has been prioritized in the Action Plan approved by the Cabinet of Ministers to implement the President’s Decree on “Measures to reduce the negative impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the resulting sharp fluctuations in global energy and stock markets on Azerbaijan’s economy, macroeconomic stability, employment, and business entities.”

Nicat Asadli, manager of the Digital Trade Hub at the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication (CAERC), notes that in recent years, significant progress has been made in Azerbaijan in developing the digital economy and enabling remote business operations. Undoubtedly, in the post-pandemic period, entrepreneurs will increasingly adopt technology-driven business models, allowing them to operate online efficiently without physical premises.

According to Asadli, under the pragmatic and forward-looking policies of President Ilham Aliyev, projects such as Azexport, the Digital Trade Hub (DTH), and EnterpriseAzerbaijan have been operational since 2017. This digital ecosystem has the potential to form the technological foundation of Azerbaijan’s non-oil sector. The ecosystem integrates entrepreneurs, investors, and online marketplaces (Azexport) where economic interactions take place. In practice, foreign individuals can obtain mobile residency through the Digital Trade Hub, invest in projects or entrepreneurs they favor on the EnterpriseAzerbaijan portal, and later access foreign markets for the products via Azexport.

The manager emphasizes that all three projects were established under relevant Presidential Decrees. Their significance is evident from initial results: the Azexport portal has facilitated export orders worth $1.7 billion for Azerbaijani entrepreneurs, demonstrating global interest in the “Made in Azerbaijan” brand and the export potential of Azerbaijani products. Additionally, for the first time, a startup from Azerbaijan was launched on Kickstarter, the world’s leading crowdfunding platform, via EnterpriseAzerbaijan—opening access to a $24 trillion global market for citizens to fund their ideas.

Alongside Azexport and EnterpriseAzerbaijan, the Digital Trade Hub project has achieved notable success. Particularly, it is the second project globally, after Estonia, to offer electronic and mobile residency, which has proven highly significant. Since its launch, nearly 60 electronic and mobile residents from 25 countries have applied to conduct remote business operations in Azerbaijan.

These results demonstrate that, against the backdrop of the global coronavirus pandemic, economic slowdown, and sharp declines in oil prices, Azerbaijan is effectively applying alternative tools to minimize the spread of the virus domestically while compensating for the impact of falling oil prices. In today’s challenging global environment, demand for services offered by Azexport, the Digital Trade Hub, and EnterpriseAzerbaijan is expected to grow further, maximizing the global usage potential of the country’s digital solutions. With these innovations, Azerbaijan not only strengthens its domestic economy but also establishes itself as a leading pioneer in the global transition from a capital-based economy to a technology-driven economy.