BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 17. We view
artificial intelligence (AI) more as an initiative related to
talent and human potential than as a technological initiative, the
CEO of PASHA Financial Holding, Farid Mammadov, said at the opening
ceremony of the Baku ID 2026 innovation festival held at the SABAH.
City Innovation Campus, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
He noted that technology is merely a tool that creates
opportunities. At the same time, it is people and technology that
constitute the truly important and valuable components for these
companies.
“We view this from three perspectives. Today, access to
knowledge is virtually cost-free. However, acquiring this
knowledge—as well as, as already noted, the ability to reason and
make assessments based on the information and knowledge obtained -
requires significant investment in the development and training of
people.
Second, there is productivity. We want people to be freed from
small, everyday routine tasks that do not add value, do not
contribute to finding new approaches, or to developing new ways of
working. For us, AI and digitalization are meant to free people
from routine tasks and allow them to focus on what creates value
and requires a higher level of analytical thinking.
Third, as soon as people become productive, their ability and
likelihood of creating innovations increase. This applies to both
incremental innovations in processes and the creation of new
business lines and new channels,” he said.
The Baku ID 2026 innovation festival is being held in Baku on
September 17–18, organized by SABAH.HUB Innovation Center, with the
support of government agencies and private-sector partners.
Baku ID brings together investors, startups and leading
representatives of the innovation ecosystem. The festival is being
held for the first time this year at the SABAH. city innovation
campus, one of Azerbaijan’s emerging centers for future
technological development. Bringing together industry, science,
capital and the public sector in a single environment, SABAH.city
is being developed as a modern ecosystem aimed at strengthening the
country’s innovation potential.
The two-day festival program includes keynote speeches, panel
discussions, startup presentations, and networking sessions.
Discussions will cover key trends shaping the future of technology
and business, including artificial intelligence, venture capital,
angel investment, and financial, healthcare, education, green, and
property technologies.
As part of the festival, local and international startups will
present their solutions to investors representing Azerbaijan,
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Türkiye, Georgia, the Middle East and North
Africa, and other international markets.
