Earlier this month the Russian Venture Forum took place in Kazan, bringing together leading venture capitalists, business angels, development agencies and tech entrepreneurs from Russia and abroad.
This year, the main theme of the forum was “Venture Market of Russia – A look into the future.” Among participants in the plenary session were Vasily Belov, Skolkovo Ventures CEO; Alexander Galitsky, co-founder and managing partner of Almaz Capital; Andrei Travnikov, Director for Strategic Planning and Development of the Renova group; Oleg Fomichev, Director of the Department of Social Development and Innovations of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development; Artem Shadrin, Secretary General of the Venture Investments Commission of the All-China Association for Financial Assistance to the Development of Science and Technology; Xu Xiaoping, founder of Red Bridge; and Aynur Aydeldinov, director of the Investment and Venture Fund of the Republic of Tatarstan (IVFRT).
Belov stressed that, while the number of exits is an important indicator, the Russian market is characterized by a lack of liquidity of projects. “The amounts invested in innovative companies are comparable in Russia and abroad, the difference is that Russian startups give a larger share to investors. This makes the situation unhealthy for late-stage deals,” Belov added.
Also important, as noted by several speakers, is the creation of favorable conditions for the development of innovations and, above all, a transparent environment with an understandable legal system.
No less than 14 round tables were held on such topics as alternative sources of financing for Industry 4.0 projects, the active involvement of corporations in innovative activities, the globalization of the venture capital market.
A number of agreements were signed at the forum, including the creation of a Russian-Japanese association of technology companies and investors.
The program included presentations from such industry leaders as I2BF Global Ventures, Larix, Kama Flow, Phystech Ventures, Sberbank, Severstal, Skolkovo Ventures, Speedinvest, Starta Capital, VEB.RF (Vnesheconombank)
At the final startup pitch – supported by Pulsar Venture Capital together with IVFRT – 10 companies were selected to receive investments of up to 20 million (around $300,000), as well as the opportunity to receive training in international innovation centers in the USA, Ireland, Asia.
Kazan is the capital of Tatarstan, one of Russia’s most economically and technologically developed regions.
