The project of a young developer from Kazan entered Top 40 list of GenerationS Industrial track, a contest run by the Russian Venture Company and the Moscow Center for Innovative Development, with support from the Government of Moscow.

The GenerationS industrial Track has published the list of 40 winners of the regional accelerator round. In total, about 610 entrepreneurs from various Russian cities and CIS presented their startups. The short list was compiled out of Russian participants whose projects were at different stages of implementation.

One of the 40 best technology startups - ENNOVA - belongs to Iskander Mukhamedyarov, the graduate of Kazan Federal University.  He has founded a company that produces 3D printers; he believes that is just the beginning.

-I have graduated from the KFU Institute of Economics and Finance this year. There is no connection between my education and my present day activities. But I have always been interested in radios and other machines. My grandpa taught me how to solder. In the end of 2011, we participated in the enterpreneurs forum, organized by Vasil Zakiev. That was the very moment we decided to give up all other projects and concentrate on 3D printers.

In 2012, still being a student, I set up a company - ENNOVA. Today we have 8-10 permanent employees and almost 30 people, assembling printers. Why 3D printers? Because they play an essential role in producing many items. This technology does not replace traditional techniques; it complements them. We deal with construction printing, development of modern 'smart' prosthetic, bio printing, 3D technology educational centres, etc.   

Thus, Tatneft has shown its interest in our 3D printers. Very soon printers will be supplied to schools and innovation centres for youth.  We are now developing a new 3D printer - IRON. About 70 devices have already been ordered.

ENNOVA participates in many forums and exhibitions. This year we are planning to go to China. We are now searching for investors, therefore we have applied to GenerationS as the contest helps to attract businessmen to back the project for its further development. Our goal is to enter Top 10-15 to get a chance to present our project at the International Open Innovations Forum on October 14 in Moscow.  

What Is GenerationS?

GenerationS is a nationwide contest designed to help entrepreneurs to accelerate the development of their technology startups; it first appeared in 2013, and has been run by the Russian Venture Company and the Moscow Center for Innovative Development, with support from the Government of Moscow, as the Moscow City Hall is formally known.

The contest gives startups a better chance to convert an idea into a successful business, find investors, and acquire valuable connections in the expert community.

The contest offers investors a selection of quality projects carefully chosen by a panel of authoritative judges.

Contestants are invited to compete for the opportunity to present their projects to investors at the Open Innovations - Moscow International Forum for Innovative Development, as well as for a RUB 5 million cash prize and special (in-kind) prizes from contest partners. GenerationS offers a very helpful training and acceleration program designed to teach the basics of running a technology business successfully.

The acceleration training is free for startup owners and managers who are selected in the initial rounds.

A competing project team should submit an application (link) before July 10, 2014, to participate in the GenerationS Contest, choosing one of the following industry tracks:

- Industrial (industrial solutions)

- IT (information technology)

- BioTechMed (biotechnology and medicine)

- CleanTech (energy efficiency and resource conservation).

Applications are accepted from entrepreneurial teams in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States running startups in pre-seed (business model ready) and seed (product prototype available) stages, with an emphasis on teams which have strong potential for entering the market. After a two-stage selection process, project teams will be assigned to acceleration training programs relevant to their specific business, which will help identify the contest's semifinalists. They will gather in Moscow for a coaching session with consultants, mentors, investors, business angels and other members of the Moscow business community. The coaching session will take place at Russia's first-ever world-class acceleration facility, API Moscow.

The Final of GenerationS will be an investment session in October 2014 during the Open Innovations Forum.

Website: www.en.techstartrussia.ru