Hundreds of Russian innovative companies are considering entering the Latin American market, primarily the Cuban market, TASS reported last month. The Russian news agency cited top executives from Skolkovo, the international tech hub under completion on the outskirts of Moscow, who attended an international workshop on nanotech sciences and nanotechnology in Havana, Cuba.
According to Skolkovo VP for External Communications Alexander Chernov, Cuba potentially needs technologies in each of the five fields covered by Skolkovo — namely spatial, nuclear, biomedical, energy and IT technologies.
Chernov sees the island as an entry point for the Latin American market.
The cooperation potential seems particularly high in the field of biotechnology. “We’re interested in Cuba, a country that has been focused on investing in biotechnology for the past 15-20 years and is, in fact, one of the most advanced Latin American countries in this technology field,” said Kirill Kaem, Executive Director of Skolkovo biomed cluster.
Cuba’s amount of biotech and biomed products manufactured and exported on a regular basis is comparable with the entire Russian pharmaceutical exports, including from factories built by some of the international majors, the Skolkovo official emphasized.
According to him, current cooperation with Cuba is limited to two areas, including the development of vaccines and R&D on agents to fight agricultural pests.
“But this is but a drop to start with,” Kaem said.
Cuba, too, is interested in cooperation with Skolkovo, the expert underscored. “Projects the Cuban side may start developing in Russia may be eligible for funding support and facilitation in entering the Russian market,” Kaem said. According to him, the Skolkovo Foundation can back both domestic and international projects.
Earlier this year, a Cuban government delegation visited Moscow to explore the possibility of building a Skolkovo-style tech park in the island.
“The idea and aim of the trip here is to study this example (of the Russian tech hub) to create an analogous project in Cuba,” stated a Cuban official, who characterized the visit as “informative and successful.”
