Russian venture in full ambition
Sovereign innovation: Chips and condomsA state-owned venture capital company has decided that it needs to look for assets abroad
Elena Zubova, Slon.ruThe strategy of the state-owned "Russian Venture Company" for the next decade (available Slon.ru ) involves investments in foreign assets and the purchase of foreign players in the venture industry together with the technologies being developed.
Without strategic purchases, the modernization of the economy risks degenerating into innovative production of hemp and weaving of bast shoes. Or even into high-tech putting on condoms.
Catch up and overtakeRVC's strategy is ambitious.
The key indicator in the document is an increase in the volume of the venture market to 60-300 billion rubles by 2020 from the current 1.5–2 billion rubles. 300 billion is a little more than a third of the pre–crisis US venture capital market. The large "fork" of the target indicator is explained by the dependence of market growth on many factors, in particular on whether the Russian innovation system will be able to integrate into global markets.
In 2009, the Russian venture capital market shrank 2.6 times.
The graph presented by RVC shows the volume of venture investments (in $ billion) in Russia and the USA.
So far, RVC's experience of international partnership is limited to the creation of the Tamir Fishman C.I.G. Venture Fund, and Rusnano's is the creation of the DFJ–VTB Aurora family of nanotechnology and innovation funds. But RVC decided to go further and develop a special program for the globalization of the Russian innovation system. Certain provisions of the program have already been spelled out in the strategy. One of RVC's main applications in this direction is to assist Russian innovative companies in acquiring technological assets abroad. In addition, RVC plans to purchase foreign investment consulting companies that would promote innovation and attract investment in Russian venture funds and their projects. Assets could be searched, for example, in the South Korean and American markets.
Love in Russian
RVC's intention to participate in the purchase of foreign companies looks like a real breakthrough. This will help our companies to build advanced laboratories, technological production facilities in Russia and enter foreign markets. Otherwise, all attempts by development institutions can only lead to the creation of a sovereign venture industry and sovereign nanotechnologies, which, like sovereign democracy, are in little demand on international markets – as RVC's activities have shown since its inception.
At first, in the absence of venture infrastructure, RVC worked on the principle: give money - and the market itself will launch a new industry. As a result of two tenders organized by RVC, seven venture funds (worth 19 billion rubles) were created. What came out of this can be seen on the example of VTB Asset Management. In terms of the speed of money development and the number of invested projects, VTB Venture Fund (3 billion rubles) turned out to be the most prolific: during the first year it approved 16 projects. However, the study of his portfolio shows that the high rate of development of venture capital and the quality of projects are not related in any way: according to the head of RVC, it is better for the fund to withdraw from some assets.
Most of the venture capital in Russia is invested in IT. VTB has a "star" project in this area – an investment in the St. Petersburg company "Retournil soft". It distributes the RVS program, which allows you to create virtual system memory and thus protects the operating system from computer viruses. While the program is free for users, but after completion it will become a paid product for corporate clients. VTB also has a project in the field of fashionable energy saving in its portfolio. Light Engineers Corporation produces LED lamps, which are in demand in the USA. There is no great innovation in these lamps, but in conditions of a shortage of projects that meet the investment strategy, this can be called a good investment that can provide good returns for the investor.
But investments in two other projects are puzzling. "Pogarskaya Potato Factory" received funds for the installation of a combined line for processing dry mashed potatoes. The product is used for making chips, in bakery and sausage products. The "manufacturability" seems to be obvious: several blocks of serial equipment are combined, and the "innovative" method of cleaning tubers significantly reduces waste. Another venture project is an investment in the St. Petersburg company Izitale, which produces condoms. Its subsidiary has seven patents on special holders and methods of putting on a condom – with one hand. "Thanks to the proposed device and method, putting on a condom is carried out quickly and without difficulty, only minimally distracting the user from the act of love," says the description of the invention to one of the patents.
New brands
The problem, in fact, is that the principles of RVC's investment policy strictly stipulate where it is possible to invest and where it is impossible. It is possible – only in innovative companies working in seven priority areas. These are security and counter-terrorism, living systems (biotechnologies, medical technologies and medical equipment), nanosystems and materials, telecommunications, environmental management, transport (including aviation and space systems), as well as energy and energy conservation.
It is unclear where potato cleaning technologies could be attributed. To nanosystems or environmental management? Are condoms related to safety or medical equipment? VTB Asset Management did not comment on the quality and quantity of its venture investments. Meanwhile, the new management of RVC definitely makes it clear that potatoes have no place among venture projects, and advises VTB to withdraw from the project. Now it is obvious: a simple infusion of monetary resources will not build the venture industry, and if the entire amount of allocated funds is invested only in Russian assets, the number of "laptezhny" innovative projects will increase significantly. RVC CEO Igor Agamirzyan admits that the company gets a lot of "idiotic projects" for consideration, and promises to cut off targeted projects from "non-venture" investments more harshly.
Changing the rules of the game is a logical and calculated move. After all, if you believe the adopted strategy, RVC is seriously concerned about promoting Russian innovations and brands in international markets. And if you do not buy venture projects abroad, the Kalashnikov assault rifle invented 60 years ago will continue to lead among global Russian brands.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru28.01.2010