Last month this Russian B2C e-commerce marketplace shut down, putting an end to a long agony. Launched in 2008 by Stanford graduates Maxim Faldin and Kamil Kurmakaev, Wikimart had the initial ambition to create a Russian analog of eBay. The project was heavily funded by Western investors, with Tiger Global Management investing some $30 million …
Last year saw paradoxical investment trends in Russia’s young e-commerce industry, with venture and private equity investment continuing to fall while a range of offline players started or resumed online projects. On the venture side, investment reached historic lows. According to RMG Partners’ preliminary estimates, just 42 deals were closed, totalling $137 million — down …
Oktogo, a major Russian online travel agency and content portal, has secured $2 million from MCI Management, one the most established private equity group in emerging Europe. The deal was revealed yesterday by Russian business daily Vedomosti based on exchanges with Oktogo’s CEO Marina Kolesnik and an MCI representative. The funds will be used to develop Oktogo’s activities on the domestic …
Polish PE firm injects $2 million in Russian online travel agency Oktogo Read More
Illustrating the appeal of the Russian online travel market — which is estimated at $3.8 billion last year — an industry conference and startup contest will take place on April 28 in Moscow. The event, christened Travel Up!, is organized by Qiwi Universe, the startup acceleration program of Russian payment giant Qiwi, in partnership with two …
Russian online travel market still appealing to investors Read More
While several international investors have suspended or reduced activities in Russia, MCI, a major Polish fund, is continuing to invest in the country, among others. Its current Russia portfolio includes KupiVIP, Travelata and Oktogo. In this exchange with East-West Digital News, the fund’s managing partner Tomasz (Janusz) Czechowicz shares his vision of the Russian digital market, and …
Tomasz Czechowicz of Polish fund MCI: “We believe it’s a time to buy and build in Russia” Read More
In December last year Oktogo, a major Russian online travel agency and content portal, secured “more than $5 million” from a pool of investors which included essentially Poland’s MCI Management, Luxembourg’s Mangrove Capital Partners, France’s Ventech and Russia’s ABRT. The deal was revealed last week by Russian business daily Vedomosti and confirmed to East-West Digital …
Western investors injected $5 million in Russian online travel agency Oktogo Read More
The past few weeks have demonstrated the uncomfortable position Western venture capitalists that have traditionally invested in Russia are finding themselves in as a result of the international tensions. While, in the eyes of some them, the Russia label has become a stigma, other VCs have proclaimed their commitment to continue investing in Russian startups …
Fast growth appeal vs. pressure of sanctions: Western VCs’ new Russia dilemma Read More
Russia could create a national online hotel booking platform, RIA Novosti and CNews.ru reported last week, citing Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky. “There are plans to create [such a] system. Now we are looking very actively for business partners who can create a Russian analog to Tripadvisor or Booking.com,” Medinsky said at a Public Chamber session in …
Ostrovok.ru, a major Russian hotel booking service, announced last week that it has raised $12 million in a round led by Vaizra Capital, a fund which belongs to Vkontakte co-founders Vyacheslav Mirilashvili and Lev Leviev. A number of the startup’s existing investors also took part in the round. The transaction, the details of which have …
$38 million not enough for a startup – Ostrovok closes 5th round of funding in 3 years Read More
The birth of the .ru extension in April, 1994 has come to symbolize the beginning of Russia’s domestic internet history. Now, twenty years later, East-West Digital News co-founder Andrew Zotov, a pioneer of the industry, recalls these earlier times. The early days The Internet appeared in Russia well before 1994, with the first local service …
Celebrating the .RU – A look back over two decades of the Russian Internet Read More
Ratmir Tymashev, a partner in venture fund ABRT, has been investing in partnership with Luxembourg-based fund Mangrove Capital Partners since 2007. In this article, published initially by Hopes & Fears, a Russian online publication dedicated to startups and entrepreneurship, he draws on this experience to explain how foreign funds approach the Russian IT sector.
ABRT and Mangrove Capital Partners, two venture funds investing actively in Russia, are inviting CEOs and founders of Russian IT companies to the ABRT-MANGROVE CEO CAMP, an intensive 10-week program starting next month (deadline for applications: March 23). The program is intended to help young IT companies increase sales significantly, find new customers and partners, …
