Mr. Javier Echarri visited the capital of Tatarstan for the first time. The two-day business program of the EBN CEO included a visit to the first member of the network in Russia - Technopark “Idea”, an open lecture for students and teachers of KNRTU, as well as participation in the Russian Venture Forum.
General Director of Technopark Oleg Ibragimov conducted a tour of the Technopark and its leading resident companies. Javier Echarri was impressed by the infrastructure and the level of companies that inhabit it. “Knowing the Kazan Technopark on the conclusions of the Qualification Committee, annual reports, as well as reports of its leadership at the annual EBN congresses, it is nice to see everything with your own eyes and see for yourself how the Technopark’s infrastructure and work meet the stated standards”, - said Mr. Echarri.
Recall that Technopark “Idea” has been operating under the brand EC-BIC since 2010, annually confirming its compliance with the requirements of the Qualification Committee.
Also, the EBN CEO visited the Kazan National Research Technological University (KNRTU), where he met with the university’s rector, Sergey Yushko, and gave a lecture to students. Javier is a specialist in the field of investment in the early stages of growth, for 11 years he led the company Invest Europe, participated in the creation of a community of business angels (private investors) in the Basque region. Students of KNRTU of various specialties and their teachers came to hear about the European experience in business development and support for start-ups.
EBN pays great attention to supporting student projects.
An interesting topic was raised - “responsible investment”. Its essence lies in the fact that the selection of projects should take into account their impact on the ecological situation, as well as the impact on the social and other aspects of life. “Responsible investment” is a regular monitoring of project performance, which can have a negative impact on the world around us, both now and in the future”, - said Javier Echarri.
In the course of the lecture, students had the opportunity to ask questions. And, despite the fact that all communication was conducted in English, it did not become a problem for students. They were worried about the reasons for start-up failures, which ways to promote products are now the most effective and much more.
Javier Echarri’s business visit to Kazan ended with participation in the Russian Venture Forum, which was held for the 14th times. For all the time of the forum in Kazan, 1,120 speakers, including 850 investors from Russia and more than 30 foreign countries, 649 exhibiting companies, 18,000 participants from 70 cities of Russia and 30 foreign countries from around the world took part in it.
