Foreword 3

Executive summary 4

Introduction 5 1 Why TradeTech matters for Azerbaijan, and why now 6

1.1 The economic argument 6

1.2 The corridor argument 7

1.3 The regional opportunity 8 2 Strategy for the Development of the Digital Economy in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2026–2029 9

2.1 TradeTech across the three strategic goals 10

2.2 TradeTech-relevant provisions in the strategy 11

3 Methodology 12

3.1 Analytical process 12

3.2 Stakeholder coverage 13

4 Azerbaijan’s TradeTech landscape: Strengths and the enabling layer gap 14

4.1 What Azerbaijan has built 14

4.2 The enabling layer for TradeTech: Three main gaps 15

5 Gap assessment: Seven strategic enhancement areas within three key gaps 16

5.1 Digital trade infrastructure and interoperability 17

5.2 Legal and regulatory framework 17

5.3 Trade finance access 18

5.4 Innovation ecosystem and international positioning 18

5.5 Public–private collaboration 19

5.6 Talent and skills 19

5.7 Market structure and adoption 19

6 Recommendations 20

6.1 Immediate actions 20

6.2 Structural reforms 21

6.3 Recommended sequencing 23

6.4 Implementation considerations and risk factors 25

7 Validation workshop: Ecosystem input 26

7.1 Barriers to digital trade 26

7.2 Priorities identified by participants 26

7.3 Practical actions proposed 27

Conclusion 28

Annexe: Evidence base 29

Glossary 31

Contributors 32

Endnotes 33