Authorities, entrepreneurs, business angels, innovators and experts of international level met in Kazan for the fourth time to discuss matters of investment and innovation development of the Republic of Tatarstan potential.
On September 22-23, 2011 the Annual Business Leaders Investment Forum “Innovation for Business” was held in Technopark “Idea”. The Forum was organized by Investment Consulting Company “MARCHMONT Capital Partners” jointly with Technopolis “Himgrad” and CJSC “Innovational production Technopark “Idea”, whose support ensured the participation of entrepreneurs of the republican key sectors: chemistry and petrochemistry, pharmacy, medicine and IT.
The Business Leaders Investment Forum “Innovation for Business” - is one of the leading communication platform where authorities, business, science find contact points and make consolidated decisions. The program is designed to stimulate regional industrialists, businessmen, venture investors and innovators to interact in finding projects that have commercial potential.
The main objectives of the Forum:
- Raising public awareness of overcoming of barriers that arise during the generation of regional innovation clusters by involving of well-known Russian and foreign experts;
- Promotion of the idea of “Ecosystem” requiring innovative solutions which could improve the efficiency and competitiveness of Russia on the eve of expected accession to the WTO;
- Real dialogue with the Forum’s participants and explanation of implementation mechanisms and organization of the required institutes and structures;
- Increase universities’ interest and motivation in changing the activity that meet market needs;
- Increase investor interest in long-term relationships.
The Forum Programme is focused on the presentation of the best international practice, implementation and adaptation of new technology in production and business processes as well as demonstration of how to use this approach to increase the enterprise value and attraction of investment and strategic partners to extend market share.
The first day of the Forum was focused on representatives of business and political elite and devoted to the innovation. Subject of the first session “The Government function in the innovation development” involved matters of the Russian Federation innovation policy, methods of innovation promotion, tax practices, legal regulation. The second session included the discussion of investment attraction for technology projects including analysis of investment success stories. At the third session the participants exchanged views on Research and Development (R&D) practices in corporations, shared their international experience in relationship between corporations and innovators.
The second day of the Forum was focused on entrepreneurs and representatives of the scientific community. The Forum entirely consisted of workshops that gave the answer to the question “How to commercialize the innovative idea”. It started with a workshop where effective methods of promoting students entrepreneurship and innovation recruiting have been announced. The second master-class was devoted to the discussion of infrastructure cluster programs development, particularly technology parks.
The First Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the RT Igor Nosov, Deputy Minister of Energy of the RT Irina Larochkina, Chairman of the Committee for the Economic Development of the Executive Board of Kazan Sergey Vatanin, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the RT Valery Gerasimov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC “Himgrad” Albert Karimov and Director of Innovation of Technopark “Idea” Oleg Ibragimov shared their experience in the generation of innovation and venture ecosystem of the Republic of Tatarstan and implementation of public private partnership projects.
This year the Forum has already been held in such large Russian cities as Novosibirsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Obninsk, Astrakhan, Nizhniy Novgorod and Volgograd.
According to General Director of “Marchmont Capital Partners” Kendrick White Russia has huge potential for development of innovative technologies. That is, those projects which are actually start ups. Indeed, today themajority of serious entrepreneurs do not want to invest in abstruse projects and afraid of it. There are several reasons for such lack of interest: low motivation of private investors who want to get “quick money”, lack of close cooperation between government, research companies, universities and businessmen”.
However, according to the expert, Tatarstan has rather more favorable situation despite the fact that the Republic could be called as raw materials region. There is the dialogue between the authorities and business. This dialogue is represented in Technopark “Idea”, Technopolis “Himgrad”, Investment and Venture Fund of the Republic of Tatarstan.