The Spring of Russian E-commerce - An exclusive global perspectives series

Global software, games and consumer electronics companies target Russia

By East-West Digital News / May 17, 2012

Digital River, a US-based software company, has just released a survey of 250 companies across Asia, Europe, North America and emerging countries – including Brazil and India – which operate in the software, gaming software and consumer electronics sectors and generate annual global revenues of $250 million or more.

Russia came out on top of the list of countries where such companies are seeking to expand internationally in the next two years. Russia was named by 31% of the respondents, followed by Brazil (24%), China (23%), India (22%), Japan (22%), Germany (21%) and the United Kingdom (16%).

Satellite communications operators Iridium and Thuraya come back to Russia

By East-West Digital News / May 17, 2012 / 2 Comments

Iridium Communications, the global satellite communications company, expects to commence operations soon in Russia, after technical tests are completed and acceptance certificate received from the Russian authorities.

“Our interconnect in Russia is built and 95 percent complete, and we’ll soon be pleased to announce our new start in Russia,” Corporate Communications Director Liz DeCastro told East-West Digital News.

Iridium’s predecessor company, Iridium LLC, already operated in Russia in the 1990s before ceasing business around the world due to a bankruptcy.

Government-sponsored cloud platform offers software, infrastructure and development solutions

By Marchmont News, East-West Digital News / May 16, 2012

Rostelecom, the state-owned telecom operator, has completed phase one of “Project 07,” the national cloud computing platform to be fully put together by 2015 as part of the federal Information Society program.

The platform, launched in beta version in March under the o7.com domain name, offers cloud-based software, infrastructure and development platform services (SaaS, IaaS and PaaS, respectively).

Qualcomm could invest “hundreds of millions of dollars” in Russian tech companies

By East-West Digital News / May 15, 2012 / 1 Comment

Qualcomm, a leading US-based international provider of wireless technology and services – with a particular emphasis on chipsets for smartphones – is ready to invest “hundreds of millions of dollars” in Russian tech companies, Senior VP Anastassia Lauterbach told the Russian business daily Kommersant.

According to its strategic plan adopted in late 2011, Qualcomm will pursue four goals in Russia, said Lauterbach: help operators develop their networks; develop an ecosystem of Internet services; make the smartphone more accessible to the population; and invest in technology and science.

Dating site Flirtic.com launches in Russia

By East-West Digital News / May 15, 2012

Flirtic.com, a dating and matchmaking site that began operating in early 2011, chose Russia as its first step to international expansion beyond its native Estonian market.

A beta version of the service is being launched this week to serve users in Moscow, but Flirtic.com has plans to cover St Petersburg, Kiev, and other Russian-speaking cities later this year, explained Andres Susi, the site’s Executive Director, in an exchange with East-West Digital News.

Fast Lane launches online commercial real estate service

By East-West Digital News / May 14, 2012

Fast Lane Ventures, the Moscow-based serial startup developer, has launched an online service called Kommerstate.ru to help commercial real estate market players lease, purchase and sell properties.

Started last week, the site is the first of its kind in Russia, according to Fast Lane, and is more than a property database: it “converts a user interested in a property into a real business lead.”

Rocket Internet receives $200 million from Russian-American billionaire Len Blavatnik

By East-West Digital News / May 11, 2012 / 1 Comment

Rocket Internet, the Samwer brothers’ famous Berlin incubator, has received a $200 million investment from Access Industries, a US based industrial holding owned by Russian-American billionaire Leonard Blavatnik. The news was reported earlier this week by Berlin-based tech blog VentureVillage.com, which cited unnamed industry sources.

The amount has placed Access Industries second behind Swedish investment company Kinnevik, VentureVillage.com notes. The latter spent a record €300 million on Rocket Internet and its portfolio companies in the last quarter alone.

Russian fund to invest €20 million in French startups as Russian-French tech ties grow

By East-West Digital News / May 09, 2012 / 1 Comment

The Russian high tech fund New Generation Investment (NGI) announced last week that it will launch a €20 million division dedicated to French startups, the French business daily Les Echos reported. “We are focusing on telecoms, web technolgies and tech-oriented media,” said NGI shareholder Leonid Reiman.

France will serve as a testing ground for one of NGI’s most ambitious projects – a VoIP and video conference service that would compete with Skype.

Ozon CEO Maëlle Gavet: “We have internalized most of the delivery process to make it more cost-friendly and efficient”

Part of a Global Perspectives Series on Russian e-commerce offered by East-West Digital News / May 08, 2012

After six years with BCG in Russia, Europe and India, Maëlle Gavet joined Ozon.ru in early 2010 as Marketing and CRM Director. She was appointed CEO in 2011, a year that came as a tipping point for this major online retailer, with a $100 million round of financing in September and, by the year’s end, preparation for the acquisition of leading footwear retailer Sapato.ru.

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Mobile penetration rate over 150% in Russia, market close to saturation

By East-West Digital News / May 08, 2012

For the first time ever, all three major Russian mobile operators lost subscribers in early 2012, according to a report from AC&M Consulting, a Russian management consulting and research agency specializing in telecommunications and media.

Vimpelcom, MTS and Megafon saw their active subscriber bases – defined on a six- or three-month basis – shrink by 1.6 million, 579,000, and 1,500 people respectively.

This recent evolution could be a sign of market saturation, AC&M analysts say.

Global software, games and consumer electronics companies target Russia

Satellite communications operators Iridium and Thuraya come back to Russia

Government-sponsored cloud platform offers software, infrastructure and development solutions

Qualcomm could invest “hundreds of millions of dollars” in Russian tech companies

Dating site Flirtic.com launches in Russia

Fast Lane launches online commercial real estate service

Rocket Internet receives $200 million from Russian-American billionaire Len Blavatnik

Russian fund to invest €20 million in French startups as Russian-French tech ties grow

Ozon CEO Maëlle Gavet: “We have internalized most of the delivery process to make it more cost-friendly and efficient”

Mobile penetration rate over 150% in Russia, market close to saturation

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