Skolkovo stands ready to support Belarusian innovative projects

Skolkovo Foundation stands ready to support Belarusian innovative projects, Skolkovo Vice President, the Executive Director of the nuclear (industrial) technologies cluster Igor Karavayev said at the pitching session held jointly with the Belarusian State Science and Technology Committee, BelTA has learned.

According to Igor Karavayev, Skolkovo Foundation gave a start to 1,150 startups from around the world. In order to become a Skolkovo participant, an innovative enterprise does not have to deploy a production facility in Russia. It is sufficient to apply through the Skolkovo official website. After that, the project will be evaluated by independent experts. "These are highly-qualified professionals. Even if you do not become our resident, their assessment will be useful for you," the Skolkovo Vice President said.

If the experts find a project interesting, its developers can count on financial support. “Every fifth startup gets grants," said Igor Karavayev. Their amount varies from RUB4 million to 300 million. Support could reach up to 50% of the project costs.

"And yet Skolkovo differs from a research institute which also implements projects. The main goal of scientists is to get a new technology/product. We aim for profits,” he noted.

The event was held at the Academy of Public Administration under the aegis of the President of the Republic of Belarus. A pitching session is a short, 5-7-minute presentation of a project to a potential customer for the purpose of sale or obtaining financing. The session was attended by government officials of different levels who are enrolled in the programs of the Public Service Institute of the Academy of public Administration, and representatives of Minsk City Technopark.

As was reported, one of the stages of the all-Russian startup tour of the Skolkovo Foundation took place in Minsk in 2015. About 900 applications were submitted for participation in events of the Belarusian stage, including 250 applications for presenting projects. As many as 73 projects were shortlisted, but only 15 ones were allowed to proceed into consequent stages of the startup event in the Russian innovation center Skolkovo.

Innovative Plant Turbosphere by the Belarusian developer Kirill Levkov has been named the best project in the Energy-Effective Technologies track. The project is meant to design a new type of plant for recycling secondary energy resources, namely the energy that excessive pressure of natural gas represents.