Davit Khachatryan moved back to Armenia from Israel, where he was working as a business analyst, in 2012.

While he enjoyed the lifestyle there, Davit Khachatryan (top photo) confesses that he feels at home in Armenia.

The young man says there are a number of IT ideas in his head that he’d like to launch here.

“The time has come when I’ve set my own parameters, rather than working within those set by others. It’s not just about making money but about helping others. I gained experience but later wantedfreedom, to create something of my own. I’ve been experimenting since,” says Davit.

He’s decided to implement a project called Trade Santa, where people can obtain various items without paying money. He wants to create a platform that combines the web site and the social network – like combining eBay and Facebook.

The platform will allow users to display items they’d like to exchange for others. Users can hook up and agree as to how the exchange will take place. Right now, Davit is looking for a partner who will provide the technical side of the project.

“I want it to be a project that will assist the largest number of people possible and for this market to develop in Armenia. Money is the mover in the world today, so I wanted to come up with something where its function would be decreased,” says Davit. “You have to start by thinking that you want to make a change. If you are set on your idea you can get others to believe in it as well.”

Davit’s friend Minas Keshishyan, who’s an IT expert as well, also believes in change via the IT sector.  They want to present their project to Microsoft Innovation Center Armenia.

Founded in 2011, MIC Armenia states that it: “focuses on providing support to the local community to stimulate the development of new startups that are competitive and successful in the marketplace. We provide services and support to the Armenian IT community and students to create business from their ideas”

The two budding entrepreneurs are thinking about creating various telephone add-ons that will facilitate the easier use of the internet. Minas is now working on one such add-on that will allow one to read website news in larger print and on a screen version without those annoying adverts pushed on readers.

When entering any browser by phone, the user is bombarded with site advertisements, banners and various links. This add-on will allow a user to merely open the site’s news content. Another add-on that Minas wants to create for the telephone is envisaged to translate foreign words. If successful, a reader will just have to press any unfamiliar word and it will be translated.

Minas Keshishyan has worked as a programmer at various organizations, Most accept orders from U.S. and Canadian companies.

“They pay use peanuts, perhaps good money for Armenians, but they take what we’ve done and make huge profits,” says minas. “We have to see start-ups created here in Armenia that can launch their own projects and not just fulfill outside orders.”

The two men say that the IT sector in Armenia has developed during the past two years but that it’s not sufficient for future growth. Right now, western companies are exploiting local human resources.

“To guarantee large-scale development it’s vital to create and develop local organizations and to showcase original projects. Money isn’t the biggest problem facing this sector. Many IT teams have presented their projects, but very few have attempted to implement them,” says Minas.

Minas has worked with qualified IT professional in Armenia but he’s always changed jobs. He confesses that he cannot work with people who have been doing the same work for years but who don’t have the courage to change anything and to launch their own initiatives.

He’s now receiving job offers from overseas, even one from Facebook, but he hasn’t accepted any as yet.

“I want to do a project of my own, even a small one,” says Minas.

Davit is convinced that the IT sector in Armenia is capable of innovation and implementing a variety of projects because the market is young and wide-open. He says there is great human resource potential here.

Photos: Davit Khachatryan’s and Minas Keshishyan’s Facebook page