Tatarstan President takes part in opening of 16th Russian and 11th Kazan Venture Fair

On April 27, the 16th Russian and 11th Kazan venture fairs opened at the Korston Entertainment Complex in Kazan.

Welcoming participants of the event, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov thanked organizers of the fair, “who were one of the originators of the venture movement in our country” and expressed special gratitude to foreign partners. "I wish you all fruitful work"  he said.

"It is the 16th time we gather every year to see into new projects, meet colleagues, exchange ideas and move forward. This suggests that the project is alive and will live on. We are grateful to Tatarstan, which has done a lot for the success of this movement," Aide to Russian President Andrei Fursenko said in his welcoming remarks.

Executive Director of the Russian Venture Capital Association Albina Nikkonen wished Tatarstan to be ahead of other Russian regions to introduce new ideas surfaced at discussion sites of the fair.

"We are entering the second decade of existence of the Kazan Venture Fair communicative platform. Last year, we decided to reformat the venture fair in a more wide-scale event, the Russian Venture Forum, making Tatarstan an international innovation hub," she said.

"The result of the development of the venture capital market in the country over the past decade suggests that we are getting to a new level, including international cooperation,"  Director General the Russian Venture Company Igor Agamirzyan noted.

After the opening ceremony the guests looked around the exhibition fair, presenting support infrastructure of Tatarstan innovation. A total of 55 innovative companies will present their own development.  The most promising ones will take part in the international acceleration   programme that was launched this year.

As many as 378 applications from start-ups from 37 Russian cities and 15 countries were submitted to participate in the acceleration programme and the fair. The event is attended by companies from Moscow, Kazan, St. Petersburg, Samara, Kaliningrad and other Russian cities as well as from Baku (Azerbaijan). Industrial, oil and gas, medical, biotech, IT-projects, as well as start-ups, dealing with new material are presented at the fair.