In Moscow has been conducted the first corporate venture summit

In December, 5 in the event-hall “Infoprostranstvo” has been conducted the first Moscow corporate venture summit, organized by the iR&Dclub and the Publishing House “Kommersant” with support of the Ministry of economic development and the “RVC”, OJSC.

The Moscow corporate venture summit is the first specialized forum, devoted to corporate venture industry in Russia. Its key speakers became Russian and foreign top-managers of companies “Cisco”, “Rostelecom”, “Rushydro”, “OMZ”, “Almaz Capital”, “QIWI Venture”, “Ernst & Young”, “PwC”, “RVC” and many others. Within the limits of the Summit has been held specialized sessions for directors iR&D and Chiefs of financial departments of companies.

Discussions of the Summit participants have been conducted around the following questions: role of corporate venture investments in increase of business competitiveness, a place of corporate venture funds as a method of investments financing, its advantages and disadvantages for corporations from the point of view the operational activity and strategic development.

There have also been discussed questions about Russia positioning among countries with developed branch of corporate investments; difficulties of Funds establishment; possible models of corporations participation in venture investment, which correspond to local specific; opportunities of foreign experience application.

Corporate venture funds (CVF) is one of a tool of companies’ development, which refer to new technologies, products and markets search through investments in foreign Startup-projects. In order to find investment objects the corporate funds and subdivisions interact with leading universities and research centers.

Recently India, China and Brazil joined a group of CVF countries. In Russia corporate venture funds are a new type of activity.

According to vice-president of the “Rafael Development Corporation” Amir Zeidman, “In terms of today global economy, the only one way to saving competitiveness is innovations development. Corporate venture investments are the best way for large corporations to be involved in innovation sphere of entrepreneurial society”.

In the summit took part top-managers of Russian and foreign companies and corporationsm professional managers of venture investments of the global level, representatives of development institutions, venture investors, market experts and representatives of the State authority.

Within the Summit has also been conducted the exhibition of Startups, at which have been presented nominants of the track “Corporate Choice”, which has been announced by iR&Dclub in the final of entrepreneurial contest BIT of the accelerator Generation S. All in all within the exposition have been presented 4 projects, which took part in the contest BIT-2013 and selected by judges and mentors of the contest – members of the Club from more than 1500 projects.