Entrepreneurship is a full‑time vocation, comparable to careers in established enterprises, public institutions, and academia. In response, Sberbank has built a support system that backs entrepreneurship projects for seasoned founders and for young people choosing an entrepreneurial path. This initiative was highlighted by Natalya Magidey, Sberbank’s Managing Director and Head of the Startup Ecosystem, during the Powerful Ideas of the New Time forum.
Magidey explained that a university startup database has been launched on the SberUnity platform to connect entrepreneurs, corporations, and investors. Private investors ready to back university projects can receive up to 50 percent cashback from the Skolkovo Foundation.
She noted that assembling a database of university initiatives serves three purposes at once: accelerating the commercialization of student projects, giving investors direct access to university activity, and encouraging private investment activity. [Citation: Sberbank press briefing]
Another Sber project described is the Sber500 accelerator, designed to shield robust innovative companies in Russia and to attract developments from partner nations. In three years, eighty graduates of the accelerator signed six thousand contracts and secured investments totaling around two and a half billion rubles. [Citation: Sberbank program report]
Additionally, the bank highlighted acceleration programs for schools, technical schools, colleges, universities, graduate students, and researchers. Across the country, about 130,000 participants engaged in these initiatives over the three-year study period. [Citation: Sberbank outreach summary]
According to Magidey, young people often outperform adults in finding nonstandard solutions. They are already attracting investment by presenting solutions to some of Russia’s largest corporate players. [Citation: Sberbank remarks]
Magidey also underscored a joint accelerator launched this year by Sberbank and the Strategic Initiatives Agency as part of the Technological Entrepreneurship track within the Strong Ideas of the New Age forum. [Citation: ASI collaboration notes]
The Powerful Ideas of the New Age forum is organized by the Strategic Initiatives Agency and the Roscongress Foundation with the goal of identifying and supporting initiatives that strengthen Russia’s sovereignty and advance national objectives by 2030. [Citation: Roscongress Foundation event summary]
Earlier remarks from Sberbank touched on prospects for shared life insurance development, reflecting a broader agenda of financial innovation and collaboration across sectors. [Citation: Sberbank future outlook]