Startup-Afisha, an online resource for Russian startups that has thus far focused on the domestic market, yesterday announced a decisive shift to address a global audience. Slated for launch next month, its startup database RusBase will “provide Russian IT startups with access to leading Western funds” and “link Russian funds to international partners for co-investment.”
RusBase, by Q1 2013, aims to sign up 200 projects – the critical mass it needs to attract international investors.
The English-language platform will also develop editorial content, from news and interviews to monthly reports on venture activity, with the participation of “popular Western journalists” and “a well-known foreign publishing house,” Startup-Afisha founder and business angel Alena Popova said in an exchange with East-West Digital News.
The company has announced an investment of $3 million over 18 months from Black Ocean, a New-York headquartered holding that builds, operates and invests in technology businesses around the world, focusing on video, social-media, mobile and e-commerce. The funds will be disbursed in several tranches, with other West European funds and family offices potentially participating at later stages.
Such considerable sums are required “given the international dimension of the project and the related marketing and technical costs,” Popova said.
RusBase enjoys the support of Skolkovo, the innovation hub nearing completion outside Moscow along with RVC, a state-owned fund of funds dedicated to innovation. It has also garnered support from several funds including Runa Capital, the Moscow Seed Fund, and Fast Lane Ventures.
“I am hugely impressed by the quality of startups and engineering talent in Russia. Whenever I go back to London or the US I’m constantly bombarded with questions from VCs about the Russian market. It still seems to be an attractive, but opaque and uninviting market for Western technology investors. I think we can remedy that with RusBase,” RusBase editor Patrick Schneider-Sikorsky told EWDN.
The company’s short-term plans reportedly include bringing on board key venture investors from America, Europe (particularly Germany), and South Korea, reported online publication Venture-News.ru. With a reported 14 European investment funds already among its list of backers, RusBase is now hoping to tap into US-based opportunities.
Starting with IT projects, RusBase plans to go on to extend its coverage to include projects from the renewable energy, healthcare, biotech, and other science-intensive sectors.
