Alfa-Bank - Alfa Group

RUSSIANTECHNOLOGIESRUSSIAN TECHNOLOGIES HAS BEEN INVESTING IN EARLY-STAGE, INNOVATIVE COMPANIES SINCE 2003, ASSISTINGTHEM TO SUCCESSFULLY DEVELOP THEIR BUSINESSES ONRUSSIAN AND GLOBAL MARKETS.www.ru-tech.ruFrom left to right: Joseph P. Bowman, Partner; Mikhail Gamzin, Managing Partner; Vladimir Bernstein, Partner; Vitaly Belik, PartnerVenture Capital in Russia:Market OpportunityThe Russian market represents a uniqueopportunity for venture capital in that itis both a source of unique and innovativetechnologies and a dynamic marketplacewith a growing demand for technologydrivenproducts and services.Russia has a strong scientific and technologicalbase, founded on the heritage ofthe former Soviet Union which made significantinvestment into research anddevelopment. Today, Russia is one of theleaders in the world (ranking fourth afterthe US, China and Japan) in terms ofnumber of scientists (over half a million)with the number of post-graduate futurescientists growing every year. Substantialscientific potential of Russia and emergingscientific developments createfavourable conditions for development ofa venture capital industry in Russia.Throughout the 1990’s, a number ofRussian scientists emigrated from Russiataking with them technologies developedduring the Soviet era. Until recently this“immigration model” was the only practicalway for Russia-originated technologiesto be exploited for commercial applications.This was primarily due to thelack of local venture capital firms and thevolatile business environment in Russia.Russia’s continuing economic developmentand political stabilization coupledwith broadening access to local venturecapital provide the right environment forcommercialising Russia-originated technologiesin global markets and developingtechnology-driven businesses on localand adjacent markets. Russian Technologiesis positioned as a key player inbuilding successful partnerships withlocal entrepreneurs assisting them toachieve their goals to build industry leadingcompanies.