Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs Stuart Dwyer at the Business Incubation Forum

December 3, 2012

On December 3, Minister-Counselor for Economic Affairs Stuart Dwyer made welcoming remarks to the participants of the Second Russian-American Business Incubation Forum taking place December 3-5 and highlighted the importance of sharing experiences and exchanging best practices between the U.S. and Russia concerning small and medium enterprise (SME) finance and technical assistance.

The Forum was organized by the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) and the Innovation Development and Business Incubation Fund and was co-sponsored by the U.S. National Association for Business Incubation (NBIA) and the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center, one of the world's leading technology parks. Building on the success of last years’ event, the Second Forum brought together experts from Russia, Europe and the United States, representatives of universities, venture funds and business incubators, as well as government officials to discuss a wide range of topics including the fundamentals of business incubation and best business incubation practices developed in Russia and around the world with an aim to advance business incubation and incubator-related entrepreneurship support programs.

At the Forum Russian National Award in Business Incubation and innovative entrepreneurship "Young Lions - 2012" will be awarded. The award is to be given on four nominations: the best business-incubator; the best innovative business incubator; the best business-incubator manager; and the best project. The winners will get educational grants and prizes from sponsors, as well as an opportunity to take part in the International Business Incubation Conference in Atlanta. Currently, there are more than 1,100 active business incubators and technology parks in Russia providing a broad range of services that meet virtually all the needs of startup companies.

Nearly all Russian business incubators provide basic services (mail and secretarial services, office equipment, telephone and Internet service, IT service, etc.) to their residents and incubator employees provide consultations to residents. In the United States, it is estimated that over 27,000 companies were started with the assistance of incubators (in 2010), which ultimately created more than 100,000 full-time jobs. As a result, the total revenues from incubator-affiliated companies have risen to over $17 billion. This emphasizes the existing window of opportunities and calls for more cooperation between the two countries to create enabling environment for innovative entrepreneurship through business incubation.