On March 26, 2021, the official closing ceremony of the “Support to SMEs and creating a sustainable ecosystem for the Armenian textile industry” program took place in Yerevan during which the program’s results were summarized.

The RA Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan and Chargé d'Affaires of the British Embassy in Armenia Victor Clark delivered welcoming speeches at the event. The event was also attended by high-ranking officials of the RA Government, industry specialists, Armenian designers and textile producers, local and international partners in the textile industry.

Welcoming the event participants, the RA Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan, in particular, noted: “Armenia must become a good place for creative people, the talent and creative potential that exists in the Armenian people, including in the field of fashion, we shall be able to discover and advance as much as possible”. The Minister also expressed readiness to support development of the fashion industry in Armenia and its presentation on world platforms.

The aim of the two-year program was to improve the technical and business skills of the fashion and textile sector, expand the sector’s representation in local and international markets, create new jobs and a sustainable industrial supply network based on the recycling model.

The program was implemented by the “Fashion and design chamber” NGO and funded by the Good Governance Fund (GGF) of the Government of the United Kingdom of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland with the support of the British people. The main international partners of the program are the British organizations: Eco-Age and Fashion Scout.

The following main achievements of the program were presented during the event:

• Capacity building and support to SMEs to upgrade innovative business skills and technical knowledge.
• Promotion of “Made in Armenia” platform in local and international markets.
• Participation of the Armenian designers in the online platform of Fashion Scout during the London Fashion Week.
• Creation of courses.fdc.am online educational platform, which aims to provide the fashion-related innovative methodological electronic modules to beginners, SMEs, and students.
• Results of the survey “Current challenges of the education system in fashion and textile industry”.
• The eco-fashion campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the existing environmental issues that are directly or indirectly related to the fashion and textile industry.
• “Creation of a model for a sustainable textile production and processing supply chain in Armenia: the roadmap of activities” research.
• Establishing the united online shop of Miashop.am.

At the end of the event, #MadeInArmenia fashion show took place with a joint presentation of Armenian designers and textile brands.