Business angels invest in innovative Russia
Dina Pisarevskaya, "Business Moscow", 17.11.2008
At the end of October, the National Congress of Business Angels of Russia "Invest in Innovative Russia" was held in Moscow. The concept of "business angel" appeared in the USA and refers to individuals investing their capital, entrepreneurial know-how and experience in enterprises with significant growth potential. Thus, the activity of business angels makes it possible to increase the degree of survival of small companies: it solves the problem of lack of equity, managerial skills and business connections at the initial stages of development.
The movement of business angels in our country is steadily gaining momentum, associations and business communities are being formed, the largest of which is the National Commonwealth of Business Angels of Russia (SBAR).
Business angels and seed financing are an important factor in the development of the Russian economy, this is especially important during the economic crisis, which can give impetus to the development of innovative companies. At a press conference dedicated to this topic, A. Kostrov, Director General of the Agency for the Development of Innovative Entrepreneurship, noted that business angels will provide managerial and financial support to small businesses working in the field of innovation.
The Congress makes it possible to establish contact between business angels and enterprises offering promising projects. Only in Moscow there are several business angels, information about which is posted on the SBAR website. A. Kashirin, Chairman of the SBAR Board, spoke about the importance of regional networks of business angels that allow connecting projects and investments. They formalize ideas to the level of an investment-attractive project, after which they present them at presentation sessions organized by the SBAR, and investors can choose the companies that interest them. According to such an investment program, 1-2 business projects come for consideration every day.
In addition, A. Kashirin stressed that during the crisis it is necessary to give a new impetus to the development of leasing, so the banking community can help business and play a role in the development of an innovative economy.
The Congress participants noted that for Russia, business angel and seed financing, which is carried out in small innovative companies at the earliest, "seed" stage, is a new investment mechanism. Business angels experience considerable risk when investing in a new project, since there are no guarantees that the investor's funds will not be lost. However, on the other hand, if the business develops successfully, then business angels can count on a large income.
The National Community of Business Angels of Russia has a long-standing partnership with the Department of Support and Development of Small Business Moscow, and small enterprises that have received investments from business angels can also participate in the system of state support for small businesses. The Department implements in Moscow, within the framework of a Comprehensive target program for the development and support of small entrepreneurship for 2007-2009, a set of measures for financial and property support of small enterprises in the innovation sector, as well as for training. The section of the comprehensive program dedicated to personnel training provides preferential training for managers and employees of innovative enterprises (free of charge or on terms of 30% payment) at courses.
Also, companies that have received business angel investments can be placed in the Strogino and Zelenograd urban technoparks on preferential terms. According to the press center of small and medium-sized businesses in Moscow, receiving business angel investments does not exclude the possibility of receiving subsidies and subventions from the city budget. There is a scientific and technical council in Moscow that analyzes the proposed ideas. In 2008, five meetings of the council were held, at which about 30 projects of small innovative enterprises were considered, 10 of which received financial support.
A small enterprise engaged in innovative business can receive several types of subsidies. Among them is a subsidy for compensation of costs for patent and licensing work, branding and intellectual property protection, its amount is up to 500 thousand rubles for compensation of costs in Russia and up to 1 million rubles abroad. Other subsidies are, for example, a subsidy in the amount of 2.5 million rubles for the production of a prototype or demonstration sample, or a subsidy to pay for the costs of a small innovative enterprise to participate in specialized events to promote products (exhibitions, fairs, conferences), its size is up to 1 million rubles. In addition, the Department provides subsidies for certification in accordance with international standards.
A. Kashirin, Chairman of the SBAR Board, said that there are various options for reducing the risks of financial investments: co-investment with the state, other investors and venture capital companies. However, a business angel necessarily takes part in the management of the company.
In the near and distant future, the activities of business angels seem promising. Therefore, Russian investors were urged to consider the possibilities of their participation in financing innovative business. This is also relevant at the moment because, according to experts, the shortage of financial resources at the "sowing" stage in Russia is about 100 billion rubles. And investments in small innovative businesses bring high returns. According to statistics, in the USA for twenty years, despite the high risks, they have become the most profitable on the market. It is from small companies, including with the funds of business angels, that corporations such as Intel, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Google and many others have grown and become leaders of the world economy. The nature of such a business is based on unique products with high added value, and the investors are businessmen who bring not only money, but also their qualifications, experience and connections to it. At the moment, favorable conditions have developed in Russia for the entry of private capital into this sector of the economy, obtaining competitive advantages and building a highly profitable business, experts noted at the congress.
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18.11.2008