Eugene Borisov on the possibility of attracting corporations and financial institutions to participate in funds for investments in IT

Partner, Development Director of Kama Flow Eugene Borisov commented on the initiative of attracting corporations and financial institutions to participate in funds focused on investments in the IT sector and the prospects of the Russian venture market special for ComNews:

"In the conditions of external market restrictions, as well as taking into account the regulator's policy regarding the foreign exchange earnings of exporters, the redistribution of the resulting surplus of ruble liquidity to the stock market and direct investments is not only a natural, but also a necessary step. Today, technology companies that create digital products for critical sectors of the economy are in dire need of financial leverage, and manufacturing enterprises and financial institutions need new solutions to replace the products and services of the departed Western vendors. In the last 5 years, the activity of corporations in the venture capital market has increased significantly due to the launch of corporate funds and accelerators. This trend, of course, is long-lasting, therefore, together with the current economic realities, we expect in the near future to strengthen the positions of corporate players with the attraction of additional capital to the venture market (not only as new funds, but also joining the current ones). However, it must be said that the venture market has been stubbornly waiting for the activation of the corporate sector in the role of venture investors for the last time, there were even direct orders from the President and the Government on this score, and, unfortunately, no significant breakthroughs have happened. Therefore, despite the above objective prerequisites, it is unlikely that we will see a boom in corporate venture investments on the horizon of several years.

As for the state of the PE&VC market, we are witnessing its significant transformation in terms of investment models and the landscape of the main players. Among the drivers of changes are the need to mitigate new risks of investors by searching for new investment formats, as well as the need for import substitution, which contributes to greater localization with an emphasis on the opportunities of the Russian market and the markets of some friendly countries, including the Southeast Asia and MENA regions. Of course, changes in the market structure will become noticeable in the near future - the prevailing role of the state as the main source of financing will only increase, and a number of private players whose investment focus was focused on the classic venture model, which assumed active work in international markets, will seek relocation. At the same time, it is assumed that in the new geopolitical realities, such a relocation will not allow these players to maintain market positions, both because of global wariness about Russian roots and because of the exhaustion of the traditional venture growth model. As a Russian investor, we are even more actively looking for and making promising deals and maintain a positive perception of the potential of the Russian innovation market, since we see in the current realities a window of opportunity for accelerated growth of the Russian technology business."

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