State Development Corporation VEB.RF, Sber and Google signed an agreement on strategic cooperation to support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"The document was signed by Igor Shuvalov, Chairman of VEB.RF, Herman Gref, President and Chairman of Sberbank, and Yulia Solovyova, Managing Director of Google in Russia. The parties agreed on cooperation in the following directions: realization of joint projects for representatives of small and medium business (including self-employed); organization and holding joint seminars, lectures and case studies; exchange of experience in introduction of innovative information technologies in work of small and medium enterprises, including self-employed," VEB.RF said.

As the chairman of the state corporation Igor Shuvalov noted, VEB.rf joining the partnership of Sber and Google "will allow to offer small and medium entrepreneurs additional opportunities for education and development on the basis of the BusinessClass program and the Develop.rf platform".

"Digitalization is now becoming a key agenda for business success. It is equally important to constantly learn and improve your skills," said Shuvalov (his words are cited in the report).

Chairman of the Management Board of "Sber" German Gref noted the results of "BusinessClass": today it has almost 1 million participants, more than 14 thousand new businesses were created in different regions of Russia with 58 thousand new jobs, 45 billion rubles were paid to the budgets of all levels.

"The signing of the memorandum is a milestone in the strengthening of these relations and an important contribution to improving financial literacy and developing Russia's entrepreneurial environment," said Yulia Solovyova, Google's managing director in Russia, in turn.

It is specified that within the framework of the memorandum implementation of several projects is planned. The first of them is course "Take care of finances". Practical course on accounting, taxes and law for entrepreneurs" on the educational platform "BusinessClass" from Google and Sber, in collaboration with a young but well-established aggregator of business products Develop.rf. The course consists of 13 lessons, each of which is a breakdown of a topic, accompanied by examples and advice from successful entrepreneurs, lawyers and accountants. Experts tell how much capital is needed to start a business, which pricing model will be effective, which taxation system to choose, when breakeven point will be reached and how soon investments will be repaid.

Each trainee will learn how to build his or her own unique financial model, which will help look objectively at the profitability of the business and assess the need for financing, VEB.ru explained.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is taking place from June 2 to 5. This year's theme is "Together Again. The Economy of New Reality". The event is organized by the Roscongress Foundation.

Made in Russia // Made in Russia

Karina Kamalova