With the support of the Conoscere Eurasia Association and Banca Intesa

This roundtable is intended as an avenue for presenting the experience of Italian small business in working with emerging and innovative technologies in the industrial sector. Compagnia di Sanpaolo President Professor Francesco Profumo, one of Italy’s most authoritative financial experts, will give a general presentation, touching also on the pressing topic of Industry 4.0. It is also expected that a number of successful companies from Italy’s SME sector will share their experience, as well as problems and techniques for solving them in Russia and other countries. Their Russian counterparts will also articulate their views on the issue. A serious discussion among stakeholders is anticipated, with the potential to be of practical significance.

Key topics:

• Small and medium-sized business as the foundation of the manufacturing and innovation sectors of the economy: Italy’s experience

• Industry 4.0 and small and medium-sized business

• Italian SMEs as puppet corporations: experience working in the markets of Russia and other countries

• What can Russian small and medium-sized businesses expect from cooperation with their Italian counterparts?

Moderator–Alexei Bobrovsky,Head of the Economic Programme, Russia 24 TV Channel

Opening remarks:

• Cesare Maria Ragaglini, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Italian Republic to the Russian Federation

• Antonio Fallico, President, Conoscere Eurasia Association; Chairman of the Board of Directors, Banca Intesa

Special presentation:

• Francesco Profumo, President, Compagnia di Sanpaolo

Russia is actively working to support non-commodity exports. In Finland, national and regional authorities have been reorganizing the export support system.

Finnish–Russian external trade relations have faced a difficult period against the background of the protracted global economic crisis, the devaluation of the rouble, and Russia’s active import substitution policy. These conditions create opportunities for increasing the exports of Russian SMEs, and for Finnish companies that have been able to launch local production in Russia.

Finnish SMEs are actively involved in export activities and have extensive experience of working in foreign markets that could be useful for Russian entrepreneurs.

Key topics:

• Export support in Finland and Russia: the most effective measures from the point of view of the authorities and entrepreneurs.

• Finnish SMEs on the Russian market: the most promising areas for export activities. Success stories.

• Russian SMEs in Finland: potential and opportunities. Success stories.

Moderators:

• Tahir Bikbaev,Board Member, All-Russian Non-Governmental Organization of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses OPORARUSSIA

• Aleksei Novitsky,Partner, Eurofacts

Among participating companies: Russian Small and Medium Business Corporation, METRO AG, OPORA RUSSIA, Russian Agricultural Bank, Sberbank, Foundation for SME Promotion, microcredit organization, St. Petersburg, Russian Export Center’s Educational Project

Learn business secrets and get practical recommendations from legendary figures in the Russian business community. How does business develop and expand? What is the key to the success of a business idea and how can we learn to spot a successful project?

Key topics:

• Principles for organizing a successful enterprise (including product development).

• Conditions required to organize a successful enterprise (including state support).

• How to recruit ‘star’ employees?

• How can a small business become a large one?

Moderator – Eduard Omarov, Vice President, All-Russian Non-Governmental Organization of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses OPORA RUSSIA

A practical event aimed at establishing cooperation between SMEs and banks that provide financial support to SMEs. Bank representatives will talk about the procedures that are unique to their companies (the types of financial services offered and conditions required to access them, as well as the specifics of completing the relevant applications and providing documents).

Objectives:

• to help entrepreneurs in their interaction with banks;

• to improve the quality of applications from SMEs for financial support from banks;

• to advise SMEs on bank requirements.

Moderator – Mikhail Mamuta, Head of the Service for Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion, Bank of Russia 

Poor production efficiency and low workforce productivity is a historical problem. The lag in workforce productivity, which has accompanied all of Russia’s crises, makes it difficult to transition to the next technological era and generate high incomes for the population. This problem also has cultural roots.

Key topics:

• What are some of the different approaches to improving workforce productivity?

• What are the main constraints on growth in workforce productivity?

• Can Russia quickly make a qualitative leap in workforce productivity?

• How can we evaluate production efficiency?

• What is the connection between improving workforce productivity and production efficiency?

Moderator – Marina Bludyan, Vice President, All-Russian Non-Governmental Organization of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses OPORA RUSSIA

A practical event that aims to establish cooperation between small and medium-sized suppliers and customers with major companies partially owned by the state and infrastructure monopolies. Representatives of such customers will talk about the procedures that are unique to their companies (the platform and specifics of completing and submitting documents, specific organizations for obtaining guarantees and other special aspects of procurement). In addition, the customers will reveal information about the goods, work, and services that their companies need.

Key topics:

• to help entrepreneurs work with customers;

• to improve the proportion of goods and services procured from SMEs;

• to provide suppliers with advice on customer requirements.

Moderator – Alexander Kalinin, President, All-Russian Non-Governmental Organization of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses OPORA RUSSIA

The “Business Communication in Export Activities” course offered as part of the Russian Export Centre’s Educational Project is intended to help export-orientated regional SME master the principal instruments for effective business communications, thereby allowing them to navigate successfully the entire life cycle of an export project. 

• the proper way to launch negotiations (meeting your counterparty; initial offers)

• the principal stage of negotiations (debates; presentation; objections)

• the concluding stage of negotiations (specific offers; decision-making; concluding negotiations)

Welcome address:

• Alicia Nikitina, Chief Executive Officer, Russian Export Center School of Export

Lecturer:

• Svetlana Balakireva, Federal Expert, Course Author, Russian Export Center’s Educational Project; Associate Professor of the Department ‘Foreign Trade Transaction Technologies’, Federal State Budgeted Educational Institution of Higher Education ‘Russian Foreign Trade Academy of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation’

InvestBazar is a cross-industry platform (online and offline) for presenting business projects to private investors, foundations, and banks. The aim of the event is to promote the development of small businesses in Russia, to present business projects, and to seek investors and projects for investment. The event will feature presentations of specially selected projects in various sectors of small business with a high investment attractiveness rating.

The aim of this event is to consider approaches to increasing the investment attractiveness of single-industry towns, as well as to demonstrate the existing opportunities for and advantages of doing business in single-industry towns to potential investors.

The session will include a discussion in which the leaders of federal executive bodies, Russia’s regions, development institutions, and public and commercial organizations will join business representatives to examine the most pressing issues in attracting Russian and foreign private investment into the economies of single-industry towns.

Moderator – IrinaMakieva, Head of the Working Group On Modernizing Mono-Cities,DeputyChairman, State Corporation “Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank)”

Small business is traditionally one of the factors in national economic development. In countries with well developed economies, small business accounts for 75–90% of GDP. In Russia this figure has not yet exceeded 25%. These figures indicate that this resource has not been employed effectively enough and that it must be developed. A new state socioeconomic policy agenda for the period to 2025 is currently being drafted, including a programme to accelerate growth in the national economy and a development strategy for the country. These are the conditions under which small business must find its role in this new policy.

Key topics:

• What is the role of small enterprise in the Russian economy?

• Are the conditions for its growth in place?

• What is preventing microbusinesses from expanding to become small and medium-sized businesses?

• Which strategy for further action should be chosen to promote the successful development of microbusiness?

Moderator–Sergei Katyrin, President, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation

Over the last ten years, the IT sector has become one of the most attractive for new businesses. It is the driving force behind the prestige attached to entrepreneurship and the foundation of the so-called startup culture. The reverse trend has also been noted: the IT industry is broadening the range of digital tools available to traditional areas of business, reshaping their image and increasing their efficiency and capacity for innovation.

Digital technologies allow entrepreneurs to focus on developing their business while the main routine and bureaucratic issues are resolved remotely. At the same time, mobile technologies are enabling small and medium-sized enterprises to start exporting and competing with major projects, and to create their own digital brands which are giving the Russian economy a new face abroad.

The transformation of traditional business in conjunction with the rise of digital technologies is a gradual process, linked on the one hand with the development of accessible technologies for entrepreneurs, and on the other with their level of digital literacy. How can we turn this trend into a national phenomenon and make it fashionable to be an entrepreneur in Russia? 

Moderator– Ruben Aganbegyan, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Chairman of the Supervisory Board’s Strategy Committee, President, Otkritie Bank