In Irkutsk on September 20 and 21, a major Venture Fair will bring together the 3rd Baikal and 13th Russian venture fairs. Participants will see innovative projects, discussions, seminars, and special programs for young entrepreneurs, students, and programmers.

On the eve of the event, a meeting of the committee for organizing the Venture Fair, scheduled for September 20 and 21, was held at the Irkutsk City Hall. It was conducted by Acting Mayor Dmitry Razumov and the co-chair of the fair’s organizing committee, Executive Director of RAVI Albina Nikkonen. The meeting discussed the preliminary program of the event, as well as organizational issues related to holding the fair. The Venture Fair will take place at the pavilions of Sibexpocentre and the venues of IrGTU. It will bring together two events - the 3rd Baikal Venture Fair and the 13th Russian Venture Fair. Such scale is the main result of the 2nd Baikal Venture Fair held in 2011, following which the Mayor of Irkutsk and the leadership of RAVI (the Russian Venture Investment Association) decided to organize such a major event in our city. Its goal is to promote the development of innovative technologies and innovative entrepreneurship.
“ ‘Irkutsk is a smart city’ is the title of one of the Venture Fair sessions. It will discuss the region’s and the capital of Eastern Siberia’s opportunities for the development of technological innovations. And these opportunities are truly very high,” Dmitry Razumov said. “Irkutsk is indeed a smart, intellectual city with high scientific and technical potential and an active business environment. Holding the Fair will make it possible to attract funds for innovative business, bring in new business ideas, and train a large number of entrepreneurs. This will give an impetus to the development of knowledge-intensive business, and therefore to the economy of Irkutsk as a whole. Holding the Russian Fair in Irkutsk will increase the attractiveness of our city.”
As Albina Nikkonen said, the fair is, above all, a venue for meetings between representatives of innovative business and investors.
“Our task is to create all the conditions so that they can meet and reach agreements,” the RAVI Executive Director noted. “For this purpose, we are organizing an exhibition of innovative projects, in which about 50 entrepreneurs will take part. 35 will come from Irkutsk, and another 15 will be brought by the Russian Fair. All of them are given a chance to present themselves, their ideas, and their business to major investors, investment companies, and funds. In addition, discussion platforms and training seminars will be organized. In total, about 700 people will take part in the fair.”
The Russian Venture Company and the National Association of Business Angels will hold a number of events - the open studio “Investment Lift of Innovation,” the informal meeting “Business Angels – Supporting the Development of Bold Ideas,” “Innovation Infrastructure – How to Make It Effective,” and the RII MICEX-RTS colloquium “New Prospects for Young Companies,” among others.
Special attention in the fair program is devoted to young entrepreneurs and students. As university rector Ivan Golovnykh said, IrGTU is a co-organizer of the Venture Fair and is holding the All-Russian Science Festival within its framework over the course of two days. On September 20, the conference “Young. Innovative. Creative.” will take place. The next day, 25 youth business projects will take part in the exhibition and a special competition. The university will also host a round table with leading Russian and international specialists who will teach how to launch a business straight from student life.
The second day of the Venture Fair will be of interest to entrepreneurs. “Project Mathematics,” “Why a Company Needs a Brand,” “Protecting Companies from Hostile Takeover,” “How to Overcome Cultural Differences and ‘Sell Yourself’” - these are the topics of some discussion platforms and engaging lectures.
Particularly interesting, the organizers emphasized, will be the new venues - the autumn summit “GeekFest” for programmers (September 20, 21), and the Business Accelerator (September 21). In total, more than 20 sessions will be organized over the two days.
As part of the fair, the opening of Russia’s first Venture Café will take place in Irkutsk Sloboda, where informal meetings of investors and entrepreneurs in the field of innovation will be held once a month.
At the end of the fair on September 21, the award ceremony for the nominees of the 13th Russian and 3rd Baikal Venture Fairs, the All-Russian Science Festival, and the presentation of the Golden Prometheus Award will take place.
Based on materials from the press service of the Irkutsk city administration