RVC, the Russian state fund-of-funds dedicated to innovation, has announced a partnership with Alkeri Partners, a venture capital and private equity firm from the Kingdom of Bahrain, to create a series of GenerationS corporate accelerators for Russian and international startups in Bahrain.
Run by RVC, GenerationS is a Russian state-backed acceleration platform that connects startups with corporations. Founded in 2013, the platform’s infrastructure currently serves over 15,000 startups from 30 countries, as well as 400 corporate and ecosystem partners.
Under plans, the new Bahrain accelerators will initially focus on such areas as telecom, fintech, and extraction of commercial minerals, GenerationS reported.
The agreement signed by the parties earlier this month aims to develop the startup ecosystem and encourage project exchange between the two countries. The plan is to launch the two accelerator programs starting from 2019-2020. Zain Mobile Telecommunications, the largest telecom corporation in the Middle East, will be involved in the selection of the first batch of telecom projects.
Upon completion of the accelerator period, the selected startups will be offered investments, as well as opportunities to cooperate with major firms and development institutions from both countries.
From expat paradise to startup paradise?
“With the opening of a GenerationS accelerator in Bahrain, Russian entrepreneurs will get access to the quickly growing markets of the Middle East and North Africa,” said RVC’s general director Alexander Povalko.
“Bahrain is considered as one of the best destinations for doing business in the Middle East. It is also among the five best countries for expats, according to HSBC. Its innovation ecosystem has been developing actively and GenerationS is interested to test its accelerator model on Bahrain’s market as a launching ground so that it would be able to expand it further to Saudi Arabia’s market and other countries in the Middle East,” said Ekaterina Petrova, Director of GenerationS Corporate Accelerator.
“Our partnership with RVC sets out a a unique opportunity to link Russia and the Middle East. We are confident that by launching the first planned GenerationS accelerator in Bahrain, we will be able to create a birthing ground not only for local talent, but also talented entrepreneurs from across the Middle East and the Russian Federation who yearn to revolutionize the tech industry by building innovative startups for the global consumer market,” said Jamal A. Al-Hazeem, chairman of Alkeri Partners.
The partnership between RVC and Alkeri Partners is part of the larger initiative called Zainnovate to support Bahrain’s vision 2030 as a leading tech and startup hub in the region.
