Sberbank is expanding its youth innovation programs, with SberZ and SberStudent opening doors to a growing cohort of young innovators. In a report from the bank’s press service, the two accelerators have already engaged 53,000 participants, ranging from schoolchildren to university students, to help them build entrepreneurial skills for their schools and future careers. The expansion brings these programs into an international arena, inviting participants from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Uzbekistan, and other nations to join the effort.
Within this framework, the SberZ school accelerator has enrolled 35,000 learners across schools and technical colleges nationwide. The typical participant is around 16 years old, with the youngest attendees starting at age 12. The SberStudent program, focused on higher education, attracts about 18,000 students, graduate students, researchers, and teachers from roughly 600 universities.
Both accelerators run eight-month curricula, designed in stages to maximize practical learning and real-world impact. In the initial phase, participants access a series of online lectures on the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and the development of digital products. They then select from four industry tracks: artificial intelligence, metaverse technologies, web 3.0, or the social impact track covering science, medicine, education, and the arts.
In the second phase, teams are formed and work under mentorship to build a minimum viable product for their project. This collaborative process emphasizes rapid prototyping, user feedback, and iterative improvement, mirroring real startup dynamics. A final demo day in Moscow gathers representatives from Sberbank and other large companies, university leaders, and business angels to evaluate the teams’ progress and potential.
Participants in the winning SberZ school teams are offered opportunities to gain admission to top national universities without entrance exams, along with additional points in university admission assessments and other privileges. SberStudent team members have access to a grant from the Moscow Seed Fund, while undergraduate participants may apply for a grant from the President of the Russian Federation, reflecting recognition at multiple levels of achievement and support for promising talent.
Alexander Vedyakhin, First Deputy Chairman of the Board at Sberbank, commented on the broader significance of the program, noting that young people show a strong appetite for modern technologies and the chance to translate that interest into viable ventures. He described a vibrant cohort of 53,000 attendees as a “huge stadium” of ambitious youth eager to learn about tech entrepreneurship. The message was clear: Sberbank aims to help these young people brainstorm and develop ideas, demonstrating that significant business results can be reached at a relatively early stage. This sentiment aligns with the program’s ongoing commitment to practical learning, mentorship, and pathways to higher education and funding for standout teams, all reported by the Sberbank press service.
Since its inception in 2021, the SberZ and SberStudent accelerators have offered free participation. The current expansion and international participation mark a sustained investment in youth innovation, digital skills, and cross-border collaboration, positioning the programs as a notable model for inclusive, early-stage tech education and entrepreneurship in the region.