What is Skolkovo? Russian initiatives to support national innovation ecosystem Ponomarev, rman, Hi-tech Development Subcommittee, State Duma sor for commercialization, Skolkovo Foundation 30/11/2010
Aug 23, 2014
What is Skolkovo?Russian initiatives to support national innovation ecosystem
Ilya Ponomarev, Chairman, Hi-tech Development Subcommittee, State DumaAdvisor for commercialization, Skolkovo Foundation 30/11/2010
Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma, 30/11/2010
President’s call for modernization • Medvedev’s “4i” initiative
– Infrastructure– Institutes– Investment– Innovation
• Presidential address to the parliament in 2009 was focused on innovation– Most fashionable discussion topic
• Pres. Obama “reset” policy assumes that US and Russia are building common values– Creating a compatible innovation
ecosystem is a perfect example
Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma, 30/11/2010
Myth #1. Russia’s ecosystem lacks finance
• Government created numerous financial institutions
– Equity financing• Rusnano – $10b investment company• Russian Venture Corp – $1b fund of
funds• Rosinfocominvest – $150m PE fund• Bortnik Fund – seed and pre-seed
grants– Debt financing
• Vnesheconombank– Infrastructure support
• Hi-tech parks• Special economic zones• Skolkovo Foundation as an entry point
• Many large businessmen are thinking about investing in hi-tech
• Some VCs are formed, many with foreign capital
Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma, 30/11/2010
Real problem with finance• No exits within the
country• Lack of internal demand
– Foreign technologies usually preferred over Russian
– Government is absent• Deficit of physical
infrastructure– Inexpensive offices– Business services– Quality housing
• No experienced investors
Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma, 30/11/2010
Myth #2. All is needed is some legislation changes
• Russia’s legislation made a significant progress during recent decade– Corporate law– Securities law– IP regulation is copied from German
IP law– Tech transfer law (similar to Bayh-
Dole Act)– …
• Skolkovo Law unveils possibility to solve many issues “manually”– Taxation– Immigration– Construction permits
Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma, 30/11/2010
Real problem with legislation• Law enforcement• Some Russian laws are incompatible
with usual approach legal acts:– VC regulations – to be fixed soon
• No LLP form• VC funds in Russia are regulated as mutual
funds– Corporate legislation – options, stock
series– Technology transfer act – bureaucratic
• In some Acts bad wording leaves room for unfavorable misinterpretation– Software VAT exemption act– Privacy protection act
• Main points of immediate attention– State procurement act– Internet crime liability definition– Bankruptcy regulations– e-Payment systems– Miscellaneous industry-specific acts
(telecom, advertisement, mass-media, …)
Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma, 30/11/2010
Myth #3. Russia’s R&D is full of projects
• Huge Soviet legacy of technological ideas– Primarily in places like
Novosibirsk Akademgorodok• No practical knowledge of
handling IP rights• High desire to get involved
in commercial activities, but– No experience – Unadequate self valuation– No desire to follow the market
and find niches
Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma, 30/11/2010
Main problem of Russia’s innovation ecosystem – human resources
• No entrepreneurs, even less –experienced serial entrepreneurs– High entrepreneurial potential of Russians is
focused on avoiding govt regulations – Russians are willingly taking economic risks, but
current institutions punish such behavior• Lack of international business experience and
proper connections– No success stories to follow– Language barrier
• Education reform is controversial– Education, research and industry are disconnected– Heavy impact of brain drain– Demographic crisis of 1990s starts to hit– No adequate business schools, professors with
first-hand experience• Negative legacy
– Decreased level of people’s geographical mobility– Excessive concentration of business activity in
Moscow, colonial policies towards other regions– Housing and utilities deterioration
Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma, 30/11/2010
Objectives of Skolkovo1.To develop Russian innovation ecosystem by
creating a universal entry point to– Globalize Russian businesses– Localize international businesses to start R&D and
hi-tech manufacturing2.Create in Russia new companies and/or their
divisions, to develop new hi-tech services and products
3.Attract foreign specialists and support local talents in hi-tech
Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma, 30/11/2010
Key principles• Project is managed by a non-for-profit
Skolkovo Foundation, governed by a special law
• Project participants receive set of business services as well as certain incentives for companies with revenues up to 3 bln. Rbl.:
– 0% profit tax– 0% VAT (optional)– 0% property tax– 14% social payments– 0% custom duties
• Each structure unit of Skolkovo is an independent business with its own P&L
– Each department is supposed to grow into self-sustainable operation
– Each service is to be provided on competitive basis• Business model is developed as a private-
public partnership, but assumes separation of public and private funds
– After a while Skolkovo Foundation should become independent of state funding
Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma, 30/11/2010
On-site project components• Office premises• Labs and small-scale
manufacturing• Residential space• Shared facilities and services:
– Prototyping centers– Financial services– Business incubators– Customs– IP support– Security
• New technology university (“Russian MIT”)
• Social and recreation space– Cafes and restaurants– Medical care– Schools and kindergartens– Entertainment
Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma, 30/11/2010
Admission• By decision of Skolkovo Foundation Board, based on
simple and transparent Admission Policy– By recommendation of accredited partners
(funds, hi-tech parks, business incubators, etc.)• Different types of residents with different set of
incentives:1. Intl. hi-tech companies (?)2. R&D centers of Russian/intl. low-tech
companies3. Mature Russian hi-tech companies (?)4. Hi-tech startups
• Different types of partners (?):– Hi-tech parks and SEZ– Investment funds– Banks and investment consultants– Marketing companies– Consulting and legal companies– Patent attorneys
• Participants should comply with Skolkovo mandate:– Based on new technology– Match one of 5 presidential priorities– Have link with a university– Be international
Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma, 30/11/2010
Skolkovo as an innovations hub
• Skolkovo is not just a special territory, it is a development tool for the whole country– Up to 2014 residents are not
required to be physically located in Skolkovo
– Admission is not a formal bureaucratic procedure, but decision of competent Skolkovo Foundation Board
• 50% Russians, 50% foreigners– Simple application at Skolkovo
web site and 5 minutes presentation to the Board
– Board does not verify the quality of the project, but makes the binary yes/no decision, whether it complies with Foundation mandate
– Regional network is based on hi-tech parks and SEZs
Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma, 30/11/2010
Commercialization chain
Education
Research
Business incubatorsCommercialization
Investments
Real estatePR & marketing
Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma, 30/11/2010
Education• Objective – to create and
manage a new technical university to create innovative environment and provide residents with high quality talent pool:– Initially graduate and
post-graduate– Partnership between MIT
and Bauman university
Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma, 30/11/2010
Research• Objectives:
– To create a network of leading-edge R&D labs as joint projects between foreign and Russian scientists
– To coordinate research activities to achieve highest chances to commercialize
– To provide equipment for dedicated and shared labs
• Technological clusters according to the 5 presidential priorities
• Coordination with Science Council chaired by Alferov and Kornberg
Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma, 30/11/2010
Commercialization• Objectives:
– Search for promising technologies both inside and outside Russia
– Consult entrepreneurs to create proper product lines
– Assist in creating companies– Introduce start-ups to potential customers
and investors– Facilitate proper IP protection
• Supervised units:– Technology brokers/business development
companies– Patent attorneys– Consultants– Training and mentorship programs,
internships– Project competitions– Skolkovo rep offices inside Russia (hi-tech
parks and SEZs)– Skolkovo rep offices overseas– Market research
• Dedicated Investment Council
Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma, 30/11/2010
What are bus.dev. companies• Tech. broker/business development
company – private organization, which is – working on creation of new businesses and/or
IPs, – babysitting inexperienced entrepreneurs, – doing matchmaking between entrepreneurship,
investors and potential customers,– assisting in entering new market/jurisdiction
• Tech. brokers receive mandate to represent Skolkovo on a certain territory or in certain industrial domain
• Tech. brokers minimal costs are compensated; but real money comes from upside
• Each legal entity, created with assistance of tech. broker, transfers some of its equity to a dedicated Skolkovo Foundation commercialization fund/endowment
– No participation in existing companies– Broker in fact invests services as an equity
• Tech. broker is entitled to 20% of fund’s upside upon exit
Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma, 30/11/2010
Investments• Full scale of investment
tools– From pre-seed stage to
mature stages• Components:
– Cloud of business incubators– Network of partner funds– Skolkovo cluster funds
(5 special purpose finance units)
• Coordination with Rusnano and RVC
Ilya Ponomarev, State Duma, 30/11/2010
Major milestones• Skolkovo Regulation Act –
September 2010• Skolkovo business model –
October 2010• Rep offices in Silicon Valley
and Boston – 2010• Admission of projects –
from December 2010• Nation-wide projects
competition - 2011• University deployment plan –
February 2011• Skolkovo construction –
2011-2015