Held in St Petersburg, the event marked the eighth edition of the annual From Science to Business forum.
Scientists, businessmen and civil servants gathered in St Petersburg from May 13 to 15, to discuss issues surrounding technology transfer, startups and social entrepreneurship. The event was co-organised by the St Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO).
The event was attended by 200 participants from 10 countries. ITMO, which has produced 39 companies over the last couple of years, sent Nina Yanykina, head of its Department for Innovation Management to the event, who addressed the lack of business angels and startup accelerators in Russia.
Her concern was shared by John Morries, co-founder of Tech Coast Angels, the US’s second most active angel network. Morris is aiming for a future in which angels and universities work together to reach young researchers when they are in most need of funding. That process is still in its early stages in Russia, for both Moscow-based and foreign investors.
Peter Lindholm, innovation policy advisor at the World Bank, further noted that startups and commercialisation efforts are also stifled by the Russian government supporting inefficient projects all too frequently. The Russian entrepreneurial culture is, he agreed with Morris, still immature. Young businessmen often lack expertise and a coherent strategy. He pointed to Facebook as an example, as the company is equal to the twenty largest Russian IT companies – which include companies such as Yandex and Mail.ru. Lindholm also warned Russia not to copy Silicon Valley – what he called an outdated model – and rather figure out a new model.
The forum also addressed social entrepreneurship, a new field for Russia. The country’s biggest hurdle here is a deficiency of government support, and experts at the event concluded that very little growth is to be expected in this sector over the decade. Russian universities however do show a readiness to support students’ social projects and help to make them profitable, using their own innovation infrastructure.