A data exchange platform for medical centers and insurance companies developed by GBooking, a Skolkovo resident, has been on the Top 100 list of startups at the Slush conference, Helsinki.
The company has created a platform for exchanging medical records between medical centers and insurance companies to share bills and make doctor appointments online. A patient uses a mobile application to manage their digital medical record and check the appointments, prescriptions, tests, and diagnoses. GBooking has already attracted international investors and connected major domestic and international chains to the system.
"New innovative Russian companies, including the Skolkovo residents, are gaining more and more popular with international investors", Igor Drozdov, the Chairman of Board, the Skolkovo Foundation, was quoted by TASS News Agency as summarizing the Slush conference results.
"Slush is one of the largest global venues for innovators, so we are always excited to come here. Sure, it is potential customers, who are to assess our companies, but as I see it, the quality of Skolkovo startups has been growing year to year. In my opinion, they are becoming more attractive to international customers and investors," he emphasized.
The Chairman of the Board also mentioned that the Skolkovo project will turn 10 in 2020. In addition to the regular Skolkovo events, including the Startup Village and the Open Innovations Forum, in 2020, Innograd may host a number of other significant events usually held at other venues.
Igor Drozdov, Chairman of the Board, Skolkovo Foundation Photo courtesy: Sk.ru.
"We are still discussing the list of events to be held, but I would like to note that it is not a one-off event that will go into oblivion after the anniversary," Mr. Drozdov said. "After all, it is a result of regular efforts and the progress of Skolkovo as an attractive employer and host for events uniting a wide variety of visitors. The 10-year anniversary is just a good reason to work harder on establishing such a vibrant center of activities. I hope our future anniversaries be just as eventful", pointed out the Chairman of the Board.
This year, 16 startups were present at Slush, Helsinki. According to Kirill Kaem, Senior Vice President for Innovations, the Skolkovo Foundation, 80% of them apply digital technologies. One reason for this is the event itself, since the conference mostly covers IT projects, while another one is the Skolkovo activities in this field. Answering the TASS News Agency question "Why did the Skolkovo team attend Slush?", Mr. Kaem summarized it in a single word: "Money." He noted that Slush is the largest forum for investors, whether they are small or large venture funds. Besides, in November, development institutions from many countries come to Finland's capital. According to organizers, about 3,500 startups and 2,000 investors are expected to attend this year's Slush.
Photo courtesy: Flickr.
Skolkovo has already had a positive experience: the startups had visited such events and won solid investments. For instance, two retail business players - Texel (a manufacturer of 3D scanners for human models and large-scale objects) and Try.Fit (footwear 3D scanning fit technology) - have found international partners and investors at Slush. These companies are coming to Helsinki again, since it brings real value.
This year, the Skolkovo booth is presenting a lot of healthcare digitalization projects. There is a steady demand for these innovations by insurance companies, for example.
In addition to the IT projects participating in the conference, Mr. Kaem mentioned ETB Catalytic Technologies, a company working on catalysts for oil industry. Till now, Russia mostly imported this kind of catalysts. The Skolkovo resident's product is already in use in Russia and is about to become a global market product.
Skolkovo residents at Slush 2019. Photo courtesy: Slush.
IFarm primary business is vertical farms, but nowadays even these agricultural technologies require digitalization.
NAVIGINE, one of the high-profile Skolkovo residents, is presenting an indoors navigation system.
Full list of the Skolkovo residents at Slush:
Pekka Viljakainen, Pavel Kuznetsov, Russian Ambassador to Finland, and Kirill Kaem at the Skolkovo booth. Photo courtesy: Slush.
The Skolkovo Senior Vice President says that the Foundation experience with Slush is "100% positive", since the conference helps startups find financial and strategic investors, as well as new customers. "We would like the startups to learn, investigate other pitches, meet both customers and other startups, and find out about the best practices," says Kirill Kaem.
Pekka Viljakainen, advisor to the Skolkovo Foundation Chairman of the Board, says that "the Russian startups can compete with European and global ones." He believes the Russian market is huge, you can make money there, but this is not enough: "We need more business angels: not super rich, but regular Russian businesspersons, who are ready to help the startups with product planning, reaching out to the customers, etc."