Vida Alimi, a 30-year-old digital entrepreneur from Washington, DC, has started an online business to fill in the gaps that she noticed in beauty and fashion industry. One idea turned into another, and now she is creating a social platform for fashion and beauty professionals.
“I noticed that there were several gaps in communication within the beauty and fashion industry in which I had started my first venture,
Bride Makeover
. Many of the freelance makeup artists I had hired had a tough time keeping track of the very often globally introduced industry trends and new skills. That got me thinking about a central platform that would allow these artists to collaborate their industry experiences, trends and latest innovations, all in real time”, she said.
Alimi said she considered digital entrepreneurship a sea of endless opportunities.
Digital entrepreneurship, unlike other types of entrepreneurship, is the type of business that requires less investment and means, but could possibly bring extremely high profits, said Charles Philips from Loudoun (Virginia) Small Business Development Council.
“In digital entrepreneurship there’s a larger chance to succeed. First, there’s less risk, second, more people can become entrepreneurs, and third, your business via internet is exposed to a lot more people than if it was just something in your neighborhood,” he said.
Digital entrepreneurship has grown largely in the last five years, said Phillips, adding that solely in the state of Virginia (which is about the size of Azerbaijan and is home to about 8.1 million people), the number of online businesses has gone up by from thousands to hundreds of thousands: ” If in the late 1990s there were, maybe two-three places in Virginia that offered programs online entrepreneurship classes and training, now one can find them at every university, community center or business development council.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, even though the number of business in the US has dropped between 2006 and now from over 650,000 to around 500,000, the number of digital startups continued growing. They currently represent 21% of US GDP and 11% of the jobs.
The European Union has also stepped up digital entrepreneurship development: in 2012 the European Commission has funded a study
Doing Business in the Digital Age
,
started an awareness campaign about
the benefits of digital entrepreneurship and
launched start-up entrepreneurship partnership. Over 8% of jobs in the EU are provided by digital startups.
In Azerbaijan, where the number of online users has grown from 12,000 in 2000 to 3.6 million in 2010, 28-year-old single mother Tahira Mehdiyeva, from Baku’s Narimanov District has decided to try herself in digital entrepreneurship, too. She, just like Alimi, saw a gap in a certain market, and wanted to provide a solution.
“I’m a single mom, and because simply teaching geography at a middle school doesn’t help me feed my son, I decided to become an online entrepreneur. On the other hand, I know of many single moms in Baku, and I thought of creating a site for them, where they could maybe help each other, find cheaper babysitting options, let each other know about jobs, etc.,” she said.
Mehdiyeva’s problem is, she said, she didn’t have any entrepreneurship or digital platforms-related training.
“I don’t really know how to create a website, how to design it, how to reach out to readers, moreover, how to monetize it. So, maybe my idea is just going to die, at least for now. I guess, all I can do right now is start a blog,” Mehdiyeva said.
Phillips said this was exactly why young entrepreneurs needed help.
“Young digital entrepreneurs need support from educational, financial, and governmental institutions as well as their own homes. The institutions must provide young entrepreneurs with the support, tools, funds and knowledge necessary, encouraging them to innovate in our society,” Alimi said.
Rashad Aliyev, Project Coordinator at Hackathon Azerbaijan, said that Azerbaijani government does provide some support.
“In many developed countries a lot of business activities are done online these days, therefore it’s important that this sphere is developed in Azerbaijan as well. The government has started helping out – the government has allocated a specific area in Pirallahi in Baku suburbs for Free Economic Zones, certain things are being done. They should also help out with taxes,” he said.
Samira Hasanli, journalist, who covered monetization of blogs and startup businesses in Azerbaijan, said there were a few things that still needed to be done:
“Internet quality and prices should be descent, and not just in big cities, but across the country. Second, people should understand the concept and principles of online business, they have to understand the benefits of such business (for example that distance doesn’t matter anymore, etc.). One also has to be close to his/her target audience, they have to understand you and overcome their stereotypes and fears (such as using cards online, etc.).”
Aliyev said some online businesses in Azerbaijan have succeeded greatly, such as unique online payment website
www.hesab.az
, children’s products website www.balamali.az, online clothing store
www.modaha.com
and online florist website
www.cicek.com
.
Agshyn Isgandarov, co-owner of an Akhmedly-based (Baku suburbs) Internet Club, said while there were a few very successful internet entrepreneurs, many others were still left behind: “A lot of people in Azerbaijan still aren’t using Internet. There are some smart people, who learned in time, but so many have no resources. We don’t have educational facilities to learn about digital entrepreneurship, every day tons of people come to my club and they simply don’t know how to send an email. Internet, specifically high-speed one, is still costly. There are no strict laws regarding internet, the internet entrepreneurship community in Azerbaijan is tiny, there is no support from the government or private funds for startups, there are educational tools and facilities. All of these issues should be considered”.
He mentioned that prices for internet have gone down in the last five years, which should help not only digital entrepreneurs, but also their potential clients: “For example, internet cards for 20 hours used to be 5 manats (6.37 USD) years ago, not they are 1-2 manats (1.27-2.55 USD). Speed is also better now. But even if people are online, we must consider that not many people in Azerbaijan use credit cards online. How are they otherwise going to pay for services? The government should launch some sort of education with that regards”.
Among other problems is freedom of the internet in Azerbaijan. According to Freedom House 2012 report, Azerbaijan’s score for internet freedom was 52 out of 100, with 0 being the best and 100 being the worst result.
Isqandarov said development of internet startups in Azerbaijan could help not only develop IT, but also create more jobs, including for stay-at-home mothers, people with disabilities, etc.
“Alimi, who is getting ready to launch her next digital enterprise in march, said development of startups helps societies develop, grow more responsible and prosper.
“I would say that if young adults are encouraged to entrepreneurially innovate, they’ll at least be happy in what they do in life, and I believe that it should ultimately be that way,” she said.
