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An EU4Digital study on the Market Assessment for Digital Innovation and Scale-up Initiative (DISC) in Eastern partner countries that defines high-tech start-ups’ financing gaps and provides high-level regional recommendations for the development of a financial support facility and associated support programmes in the six partner countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, The Republic of Moldova, Ukraine).

The study was prepared by central and country-level experts’ teams. The conclusions and recommendations were developed by holding multiple rounds of consultations with international financial institutions (IFIs) and a wider community of national stakeholders – more than 140 local and international market stakeholders (investors, start-ups, government organisations, international donors, and others) were interviewed and consulted.

The study is in line with the proposal for the long-term policy objectives of the Eastern Partnership beyond 2020, in which the European Commission highlighted its plan to support the scaling up of highly innovative digital start-ups and scale-ups in the region through the extension of the Digital Innovation and Scale-up Initiative (DISC) to the partner countries.