Innovation-driven enterprises from Russia will soon be able to scale up and gain greater access to high growth market opportunities in Asia through Singapore. Earlier today at Enterprise Singapore, Singapore Senior Minister of State for Trade & Industry, Dr Koh Poh Koon, and Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Maxim Akimov, witnessed the exchange of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between IPOS International (IPOS-I), the international arm of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), and the Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF), Russia’s most active venture capital fund and accelerator.

Adopting a “through Singapore” strategy, the MOU aims to connect the innovation ecosystems of both countries and support innovative enterprises from Russia to use Singapore as a base to access Asian growth markets.

The scope of cooperation will see IPOS-I partnering with IIDF to give Russian enterprises access to strategic IP management consultancy services, bespoke patent search and analytics as well as customised training programmes and workshops. These services will enhance the IP expertise and market know-how of companies under IIDF’s portfolio seeking to scale up into Asia. At the same time, IIDF will assist innovative Singapore enterprises with knowledge of and access to the Russian innovation ecosystem. 

Bridging the Russia and Singapore innovation ecosystems  

Russia has an established research culture and strong tech and science capabilities, with IP filings growing year on year since 2010.1 There are abundant opportunities for Singapore enterprises to collaborate with Russian businesses to create innovative products and services, and bring their ideas and IP to Asia, which is now a hive for innovation activities. Notably, the number of IP applications by foreign enterprises into Russia has grown 18% since 2010, indicating a growing confidence in this market.   

Singapore is plugged into the global trade and innovation ecosystems, and has the right IP connections and networks to service the flow of ideas and innovation into the region. Specifically, Singapore will serve as an important launch pad for Russian enterprises to bring their ideas and IP into ASEAN, a high growth region poised to be the world’s fourth largest economy by 2030. ASEAN is also well located within the growing Asia innovation ecosystem, which is where S$4 out of S$10 are spent in research and development and 6 out of 10 IP applications are filed. Russian innovators can take advantage of established platforms2 for expedited IP applications and connect with over 70 markets through Singapore’s IP network and trade agreements. 

Daren Tang, Chairman of IPOS-I, said, “IPOS is pleased to partner with IIDF, one of the key players in the Russia innovation ecosystem, to create stronger linkages between the innovation ecosystems of both countries. Singapore has developed a top-class IP regime and built strong connections to the dynamic and growing Asian innovation ecosystem through its extensive network of agreements. Russian enterprises will find Singapore to be an ideal location to anchor and leverage on their IP and intangible assets to access Asia’s growth markets. We are also pleased that IIDF will help local innovators understand and connect with the Russian innovation ecosystem. Our partnership with IIDF underscores Singapore’s role as a hub for the global flow of innovation and ideas, and the growing interest in Russia as a market and a source of deep technology.” 

Kirill Varlamov, Director of IIDF, said, “Being an active player in the entrepreneurship ecosystem of the Russian Federation, IIDF sees a new challenge for companies in their aspirations of global growth. The MOU with IPOS is an important step for IIDF to build a long term collaboration with the Singapore innovation ecosystem, of which IPOS is a key part. The synergetic effect of this collaboration highlights the benefits of Singapore as an IP gateway to global markets for the entire society of start-ups and small medium businesses of Russia that have their core competencies in deep technologies.” 

This is the second time IIDF has signed a MOU with a key innovation organisation in Singapore, having inked a partnership with the Action Community for Entrepreneurship in September this year to facilitate startup enterprises from both countries to access networks, markets and resources in Russia and Singapore. IIDF’s MOU with IPOS-I further deepens the cooperation in innovation between both countries and demonstrates its confidence in Singapore’s economy and innovation ecosystem.