by Tetiana Protasova
Among the many incubators and techno-parks of Russia, Ingria
proudly stands out from the crowd. Not only does it possess a substantial
amount of capital (the total volume of investment in the creation of Ingria
techno-park equals to 720 ml euro , but it also seems to have learned a lot
from the success and failure of similar projects worldwide.
Overcoming Superficiality
Russia currently harbors over a hundred business incubators,
most of them financed publicly. The standard list of services provided to the
residents includes: free or under-priced office premises, conference rooms,
channeling communication with investors and potential clients and mentoring.
However, to-date most Russian business incubators and techno parks have not
yielded any substantial innovations. World practice shows that getting the
money and building a large office block is not enough for a
government-initiated project to work. Similar to having the water fill the
banks of a river, human capital in the face of incubatees and small businesses
along with prospective investors need to come together, and with a bunch of
innovative ideas, bring life to the freshly-built premises of a techno park. No
wonder such concept as virtual incubators is up and running - material
endowment can only be extra to knowledge and networking.
Good Examples
The number of successful enterprises that have left the
incubator is by far the most important signal for the prospective incubatees.
“The fact by itself that a business incubator has tenants is not a proof of
success; the latter can only be decided if we are able to examine the incubated
clients and their survival rates in a perspective of 3-7 years.” Ingria has only been launched in 2007, and
with such short history it is too soon to label it complete success, however
its pilgrims have gained merit even in this short time frame. Ingria currently
harbors sixty-four residents , many of them about to leave the nest of the
incubator. Those who already did, are currently co-owned by big international
corporations and appear to stand on solid ground.
Media and Culture
Another important success factor of a techno park is its
popularity in the media and the familiarity with the concept of incubation in
the society. Given it is a fairly new concept for this part of the world,
incubation appears to gain popularity among the progressive Russian youth. IT
specialists are in the forefront, as Internet is flooded with information
concerning incubators and the success stories worldwide. Further, ideology plays a crucial role in
attracting IT specialists to business, as the popular US movies give a sense of courage, and a feeling that a
good concept and a will to succeed are enough to make a break. The fact that
Ingria cooperates with all the major universities in St. Petersburg is also a
good sign. Universities can offer entrepreneurs equipment, laboratories,
training programs and special services that would not be available to them in
their own organizational framework . Students and fresh graduates, having
closely observed the incubation while studying may also aspire to become a
resident, to invent and to cooperate. Acquiring professional skills and
specialization is also easier and faster when a student knows what skills he
would require after graduating.
Reasonable Eligibility Requirements and Transparency
Eligibility criteria has to be clear and reasonable in order
to attract innovative projects. For instance, one of the requirements
introduced by Skolkovo is to have at least one foreign specialist on your team
when you apply for their residency. No wonder Ingria is already 2 years ahead
of Skolkovo . According to Russian press , Skolkovo simply doesn't want to
attract prospective specialists, it is said to harbor corruption, as the sphere
of nanotechnology is difficult to monitor. This is why Ingria's apparent
transparency, ensured by regular report publication, statistical data provision
and the support of large multinational corporations is a good start to attract
further success.
Hopefully Ingria will continue the inspiring trend and will
further serve as a fine example of wise policy-making to science parks,
incubators and innovation clusters in other developing countries.
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