The XIII Russian and III Baikal Fairs opened in Irkutsk

The XIII Russian Venture Fair and III Baikal Venture Fair started yesterday in Irkutsk. The event will bring together more than 1,400 registered participants: innovative companies offering their projects to investors, government officials and state corporations as well as investors and business angels.

The participants of the fair to present 40 investment projects in total. The volume of investment in the projects varies from $50K to $35M: Internet technologies, innovations in the construction industry, metallurgy and much more. At the end of the fair a special jury will select the best participants in the following categories: Perspective Business, Best Irkutsk Company, Original business idea, Best Presentation. There will also be a prize in the special category RVCA Award.

The fair will not only provide investors with long-term projects, but will also become a platform for dialogue - round tables and discussions on innovation and venture capital investment are also scheduled.

The first day of the fair begins with a plenary session Russia's place in the global production chain. The experts discuss what steps are necessary for the development of the innovative component of the Russian economy, as well as the role of the state in this process.

The Deputy Minister of Economic Development Oleg Fomichev noted that in Russia, in contrast to the West, innovation is mainly regulated by the state. In his opinion, this is due to the historical process - after the restructuring and privatization, an innovative open-loop system has formed in Russia, the sector of fundamental and applied economics is not connected with the business sector. Therefore, the state has to become a bridge to facilitate innovation development.

The Plenary agreed that we are now at the stage when the government needs to transfer these functions to investors and business angels, retaining only the function of innovative business support: providing incentives for investors as well as necessary infrastructure for the successful development of innovative economy.

According to the executive director of Russian Venture Capital Association Albina Nikkonen, it is not possible to build innovative economy in all regions of the country at once. And that's Irkutsk region that stands out in comparison with other regions.