In late June, illustrating the growing interest of Russian tech players in Asian markets, Skolkovo, the international tech hub under completion on the outskirts of Moscow, took an active part in the Echelon Asia Summit. This major innovation event in Singapore provided Skolkovo startups with a chance to expand into the Asian markets, while Skolkovo offered Asian startups access to the Russian market.
Ten companies from Skolkovo’s IT cluster took part in the road show, as well as one from the energy-efficient cluster. They were: Ivideon, 3DiVi, Nanosemantics, Flexbby Solutions, Artquant, SPB TV, BoardMaps, Intelligent Social Systems, Logistic IT, SDNvideo – and Bravo Motors of the energy cluster.
“Most of the companies that took part in the road show had no experience in the region, while three companies – Ivideon, SPB TV and SDN Video – looked into the possibility of expanding their business in Asia,” said Skolkovo vice president Igor Bogachev, who led the delegation as executive director of the IT cluster.
“The other companies had two aims: To gauge interest in their products and, as far as possible, find potential sales partners in the region, and also to find investors and discover what support programs are on offer in Singapore to access the southeast Asian market,” he added.
The iVideon booth at the Echelon Asia Summit (Photo credit: Skolkovo Foundation)
As for Skolkovo itself, the priority was to get acquainted with Singapore’s innovations ecosystem to discover how best to support Russian startups, added Bogachev.
The Skolkovo vice president was a speaker at the Echelon Asia Summit and took part in a panel discussion entitled “Exploring opportunities in Europe,” in which he explained the attractive investment opportunities available in Russia due to the recent devaluation of the ruble.
“The interest in Russia from Southeast Asia is high. The local community and media are interested in dialog,” Bogachev said.
Russian startups in Singapore accelerators
During the trip, Skolkovo signed a partnership agreement with hardware startup accelerator HaxAsia to assist resident companies in their efforts to enter the Southeast Asian market. Meetings were also held with Singapore’s first business accelerator JFDI, which boasts around $200 million in venture capital and invests solely in international projects, Bogachev said.
Some Skolkovo residents are considering applying for JFDI’s Go Global program, which helps matured startups enter the market, Bogachev said.
Cooperation is also considered with the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE), Singapore’s answer to Skolkovo. ACE was set up in 2003 by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to provide fertile ground for innovation to take root. Skolkovo’s exact interactions with ACE remain the subject of negotiations.
But should Skolkovo firms build a presence in Asia, Bogachev warned it might not all be plain sailing, an opinion formed after meeting Singapore-based companies that had Russian roots.
“The consensus I can share from those meetings is that working and creating a business with state support in Singapore is a comfortable endeavor, but living there on a permanent basis can be tough.”
Russian early movers
Several Russian tech-oriented investors preceded Skolkovo in Singapore. Last year, as reported by East-West Digital News, Russian seed-stage fund SpinUp Partners invested in HaxAsia and JFDI.
Among the Russian early movers in this region are also Ruvento – another investor in HaxAsia – and Dmitry Levit’s Digital Media Partners.
In January this year DI Group, a Russian high tech group, launched a “venture fund-accelerator” in Tomsk, Siberia, in close partnership with HaxAsia. The initiative targets startups in the fields of smartphones, electronics, gadgets and Internet projects.
Moscow-based fintech investment firm Life.Sreda recently landed in Singapore. This past April, its second fund Life Sreda II launched there a fintech accelerator, christened “InspirAsia,” and appointed Huawei’s former global head of operations Victor Chow as its CEO.
On its side, Frontier Ventures has just participated in a $8 million round for Singapore-based restaurant reservation service Chope. Established in Moscow in 2010, this fund originally targeted Russian startups. It recently moved its head office to Singapore to invest in Southeast Asian startups.
Some Russian technology providers are also in the Asian game. Kaspersky Lab opened a new office in Singapore, the 31st country in its global expansion history. The new office is to oversee national business development, while also becoming the future focal point for the company’s R&D in the region.
Prominent Russian tech businessman Sergey Beloussov turned his attention to Singapore as early as 2000. His company Parallels was founded there before becoming a global leader in cross-platform solutions.
