Sveza, a world leader in birch plywood production, is taking part as a partner in the qualifying stages of the Russian-Chinese start-up competition. The technology project development programme is organised by the Moscow Innovation Cluster (MIC) and Beijing Zhongguancun Science Park. Contestants from Russia and China not only get the chance to present their developments, but also to find customers, scale their business and get support in promoting their product.
The Russian-Chinese technology competition MIC-Zhongguancun was launched in autumn 2020. The aim of the competition is the promotion, implementation and scaling of technology projects in the Russian and Chinese markets. Reception of applications from Russian and Chinese start-ups lasted six months. Projects in the following fields were invited to take part in the competition: “Software”, “Hardware”, “Industry 4.0”, “New Energy and New Materials”, “Medicine and Health”, “Sports and Creative Industries”.
In June, the best projects in each stream have advanced to the semi-finals. Of these, only 12 start-ups from Russia and as many from China will be winners. The awarding of the finalists will take place at the Beijing “Zhongguancun 2021” forum in autumn. But the competition will not end there – by the end of this year, the best Russian and Chinese projects will undergo development programmes to enter the markets of the two countries and integrate their solutions into the corporations.
Sveza is acting as a partner of the competition. The jury members on the Chinese side are representatives of the Zhongguancun Technology Hub and representatives of Chinese companies. On the Russian side, the experts are representatives of major companies from various sectors and representatives of the Moscow Innovation Cluster. The experts assess the presentations, the market analysis carried out, the degree of project development and competitiveness of the projects, the team composition and the experience of fundraising.
“It is particularly important for us that we can get to know the technological developments of participants from both countries and find really interesting ideas to suit our needs. Sveza is ready to support start-ups in important areas and participate in piloting solutions for their development and scaling,” said Rem Mareev, production technology expert at the Sveza Mill in St. Petersburg.
At the moment, the company has already shown interest in two projects - a technology for wastewater and air treatment, and a coating option that can reduce wear and tear on equipment parts and extend the service life of components.
Sveza has identified innovation as one of its development priorities and is actively introducing cutting-edge solutions to improve the quality of its products and services for customers. In order to work more closely with technology companies, an Innovation Portal was launched at the beginning of the summer. This is an information resource where current business problems are posted and suggestions for solutions are collected. In addition, the company is preparing to open its own R&D centre in St Petersburg, which will be a site where a new product launch can be carried out as quickly as possible – from idea and development to prototype production.