A new group of residents began working with Center-invest Bank’s business accelerator on 21 November 2018. The 50 participants will spend a month attending seminars and masterclasses designed to help them increase their profitability and enter international markets.

Center-invest Bank’s accelerator is a platform that enables start-ups and existing businesses to work on their business development strategies, from writing a business plan to entering global markets. Free masterclasses and a unique programme to support youth enterprise mean that everyone has an opportunity to start their own business together with a team of professionals.

"Our accelerator is part of our socially responsible business strategy. During the course of a month, we will prepare our residents to launch a new business or take an existing business to a new level," said head of the Financial Literacy Centres, Vladislav Soleny. "The knowledge and experience of Center-invest Bank’s experts has proven effective, contributing to over 800 successful start-up projects in agriculture, trade, logistics, IT and even high precision manufacturing."

The bank’s accelerator is not a placement, but a set of functions that help entrepreneurs to turn their business ideas into successful companies. The programme includes training, mentoring, and preferential lending. The residents will attend free masterclasses in marketing, online sales, SMM, and managing human resources and sales, given by successful businesspeople who have become part of Center-invest Bank’s ecosystem.

"When a person wants to learn, they will find the information they need. And projects like the bank’s accelerator help people who are at that stage," says Galina Onoprienko, founder of marketing and branding agency DL Media, and spokesperson for the accelerator. "What makes the project especially valuable is that information is shared by successful entrepreneurs who have already gone through the process of establishing their own business, and who are now able to help others. For me, participating in this project is a way to pass on the baton of knowledge to people who want to learn and grow."

In autumn 2018 the bank signed agreements on cooperation with the Shenzhen Association for Youth Enterprise and also with INCO, a leading global start-up accelerator. The partnerships with these organisations will create opportunities for start-ups in southern Russia to enter new markets and become globally competitive.