KOBIA: Azerbaijan's SMEs face challenges in digitalization and AI adoption

Orkhan Mammadov, Chairman of the Small and Medium Business Development Agency (KOBIA) under Azerbaijan's Ministry of Economy, highlighted the challenges faced by SMEs in Azerbaijan at the international conference "SOCGOV 2025: AI – for Humans and Transformation" held in Baku.

According to Mammadov, small and medium-sized enterprises require significant state support during the digital transformation process:

"Digitalization and the use of artificial intelligence are key priorities for SMEs. However, over 99 percent of registered companies in our country are small businesses, many of which have limited financial resources. As a result, there is a noticeable lag in adopting digitalization and AI compared to larger companies. Entrepreneurs operating in regional areas face even greater difficulties in this process."

He emphasized that, through close cooperation with government institutions, the main goal is to ensure that SMEs feel tangible state support in their digital transformation and can navigate this stage without serious obstacles.