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Head of RVC: modernization of the economy requires modernization of consciousnessThe head of the Russian Venture Company (RVC) Igor Agamirzyan plans to take part in the World Political Forum, which will be held in Yaroslavl on September 9-10.
The head of RVC told RIA Novosti correspondent Lana Samarina about the role of the state in the development of the venture market, the formation of a positive image of a technology entrepreneur, advanced technologies of the future and "windows of opportunity" into which Russian innovative companies should have time to "jump in".
– Before the crisis that struck the world economy in 2007-2009, the idea of non-interference of the state in the market affairs of the financial sector was promoted. Now there are significantly fewer supporters of this approach. And what is happening in the venture capital market, can the state let its development take its course or should it actively participate in its formation?– If we talk about Russia, the role of the state in this area is very significant, but this does not mean that government agencies should become market participants.
Not to participate on equal terms, but to regulate and shape – this is the main task of the state at the moment, and it is due to historical reasons. The fact is that the Russian economy in the post–perestroika period developed on "simple businesses" that used elementary schemes like "commodity - money – commodity". The Soviet economy, having been rebuilt, turned out to be much more primitive than it was before. Now, in terms of the share of GDP per capita, the Russian economy is comparable to Soviet times, but its structure is greatly simplified. That is, we have built a model of early capitalism, moreover, with strong state participation, adequate to the economic situation at best 100 years ago. We should not replace market mechanisms, but contribute to their formation, help launch the process of structural adjustment of the economy. Such a task is facing not only RVC, but also all development institutions. And in this sense, money, capital, which is redistributed through RVC or Rusnano, does not solve much by itself, it is not enough for the market to start working fully. Here it is necessary to create an infrastructure of services, the development of examination methods. It is necessary to develop the institutional environment, improve the investment and business climate, and remove barriers to international activity. There is an instruction from the president and there is an instruction from the government to develop and submit to the State Duma a package of bills aimed at improving the efficiency of organizational and legal forms for venture funds and innovative companies - this is an important step towards improving the business climate in our country. The same instruction provides for the development of a draft Federal law on amendments to the legislation of the Russian Federation on currency regulation and currency control, customs regulation aimed at removing unjustified administrative barriers in the foreign economic activity of innovative companies.
– Will you talk about this at the World Political Forum?"About that, too.
The state has another important political task, the solution of which will help modernize our economy and develop technological entrepreneurship, which in leading countries is the main engine of advanced projects. Our economy already allows us to develop technological entrepreneurship, but the public consciousness is not yet fully ready for this. Historically, there is a gap between the concepts of "economy" and "entrepreneurship". If the former is associated mainly with tangible assets – factories and plants, then the latter is associated with trading operations. In reality, entrepreneurship is the foundation of the modern economy. New breakthroughs, directions, sectors of innovative development are determined by the entrepreneurial initiative. This is a political task – the promotion of entrepreneurship, the creation of a positive image of an entrepreneur in society. In our society in recent years, the image of a successful person has undergone a number of transformations. In the 90s, it was the image of a bandit, then a banker, now an official. And ideally, the transformation of a positive image should go towards a qualified specialist, and it does not matter whether with a higher education or without, the main thing is that a professional in his field. The image of a scientist, a teacher who determines the future of the country, and an entrepreneur who builds the economy of the future fit into this image of success. Without this modernization of public consciousness, modernization of the economy is impossible.
– In order to form a positive image of a "technology entrepreneur", probably, these people must first appear in the Russian economy, right? In my opinion, so far the stratum of entrepreneurs focused exclusively on high technology is negligible… And is it possible to teach this, or does it come only with experience?– Small, but not insignificant.
RVC has been holding regional practical consulting sessions for the third year in a row, where we help entrepreneurs in the field of high technologies. It is clear that it is impossible to teach a person entrepreneurship as such, it is a feature of character, a warehouse of the soul. But to give the maximum possible number of those who want and can do this, a certain set of knowledge in the field of market economy, business planning, the work of global technology markets - it can and should be done. In the future, I would like to see a course of technological entrepreneurship taught in all technical universities.
– Throughout our conversation, you have never mentioned resources, alternative energy sources and new technologies, but you are talking about people and organizational structures… Is this the main direction of RVC's work in the venture market?– The development of the venture market is not an end in itself.
Our task is to give impetus to the growth of advanced technologies and industries. And without human resources, this is impossible – business is done by people. By themselves, material resources are not so important. In the history of mankind, there has never been a situation where there is no substitute for natural resources that threaten to run out. So, 100 years ago, everyone was very afraid that coal reserves would come to an end. But he found a replacement in the form of oil and gas, and coal reserves remained unclaimed to the extent that they were needed then. Now we are being scared by the fact that oil and gas reserves are coming to an end, but I am sure that by the time this threat becomes more or less real, humanity will already switch to alternative energy sources. Now it is much more important to win the struggle for social resources associated with the complex organization of the economy and life. Society becomes more complicated, and intangible assets acquire value, and this is actually what is in people's heads. We compete for these very resources, and they have such a property as fluidity, in an open global world they always find themselves where it is more comfortable for them to live and work, and where they can be realized more effectively. Our task is to create the best conditions for them so that they "flow" to us, not only stay in Russia, but also come to us, bring their talent and their ideas with them.
– And how does it work out?– The Russian reality is that it is too early to talk about winning in this competition.
We need to try to do at least something to preserve what we have - for example, the highest level of literacy of the population compared to other countries of a similar level of economic development and a very high level of technical education, which is one of the competitive advantages of our country today. In this sense, the Skolkovo model is attractive, which can show how the conditions embedded in this model will help to keep our intangible resources in the country.
– Does Skolkovo isolate the Russian venture capital market? Will it not turn out that a "state within a state" will be created, in addition, fenced with an "iron curtain"?– It will not work, at least because initially the Skolkovo project sets itself the task of integrating into the global economy.
As a rule, now any innovative product is global, examples of local products can be listed on the fingers. For example, 1C – it really was initially a high-quality local product that is focused exclusively on the needs of Russian accounting. However, the company's management is well aware that this is a temporary niche and, accordingly, diversifies its business. The vast majority of those companies that we now perceive as a world-class force were innovative start-ups only 10-30 years ago. Google, Facebook, Microsoft – all started with a technological idea that brought companies to the world level in record time. Anticipating your question, I will say right away that there is currently no technology company in Russia that, by world standards, could compare with these corporations and be considered transnational. The fact is that if we apply international standards to our largest technology companies, they are all medium-sized businesses.
– Do our start-ups have any chances to become multinational corporations? Or is it a crystal dream?– The lieutenant who does not dream of becoming a general is bad.
And the small innovative business that does not want to grow into a multinational company, as a rule, is simply not interesting. Another question is that the chances of growing to such a level are very small. But they are always there, especially if a competent strategy and correct market positioning are applied to them. I will say more, those companies that fall into narrow short-term innovative "windows of opportunities" (windows of opportunities), which open at different times in different sectors of technology and business, have chances to grow from a start-up to a world-class level.
– And in what areas do these "windows" open?I firmly believe that the spectrum of technological development will clearly move in such directions as energy efficiency and energy conservation, space and its practical applications, primarily telecommunications, related nuclear technologies, the IT sector, biotechnology, including pharmaceuticals and medicine.
For example, I think that in a fairly short time, during the life of one generation, personalized medicine will become widespread, when medicines will be made not typical, but for a specific person and for his specific disease. Already today it is technologically possible, but insanely expensive. And let's say in 15-20 years, or maybe even earlier, it will become available to everyone. This will be a fundamentally new breakthrough in medicine. Unfortunately, it is now impossible to specify more precisely which niche will become the basis for a new industry and bring superprofits to the pioneers. Moreover, technology alone is not enough, a combination of factors is important here, including the availability of investments, human resources, luck, in the end.
– But what areas do you bet on yourself?– This can be seen by the actions taken by RVC in the venture market.
So, by the end of the year, as planned, we will create two new funds: biotechnologies and infrastructure investments. In September-October, we plan to register both funds, but in the meantime we are selecting candidates for the positions of their managers. The authorized capital of the biotechnology fund will amount to 2 billion rubles, infrastructure – 1.5 billion rubles. In addition, funds from the Seed Investment Fund have been allocated for two innovative projects, about a dozen more will be considered in September. We will invest as many seed projects in 2010 as we expected, but the amount will be about half as much as planned – about 200 million rubles against the previously planned 440 million rubles. And this is a good indicator, because when the creators approach the preparation of projects carefully and carefully, when the investor makes high demands, it turns out that it is possible to use funds much more efficiently than it seemed at the initial stage of project formation.
– Are you planning to conclude any agreements or sign protocols at the World Political Forum?– No, we do not intend to attract such events to the forum.
And the value of the Yaroslavl Forum does not lie in this. It will be possible, including in an informal setting, to communicate with a large number of interesting and necessary people for the development of the innovation sphere. The opportunity to communicate is very important in the light of the creation of social networks and the cultivation of social capital, not only for the Russian venture company, but for everyone involved in the modernization of our economy.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru08.09.2010