Digital Support Measures to Boost Russian Export Companies From 1% to 15%, REC Says

The digitalisation of export support measures in Russia will increase the share of exporting companies from 1% to 15%, Maxim Kobin, vice president of the Russian Export Centre, said at a session titled "State Support for Industrial Exports 2.0", organised by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, the REC reports.

“Statistics show that today less than 1% of entrepreneurs in Russia are engaged in exports. (...) By comparison, many countries that are actively involved in international trade have as many as 10% to 15% exporting companies, and our task is – as a development institution – to create an ecosystem that would allow as many entrepreneurs as possible to enter the export market”, Kobin said.

According to him, the REC's portfolio has many tools to support both novice exporters and those entrepreneurs who are getting ready to become exporters. The REC's Export School is actively working. Furthermore, this year the REC is launching specialised educational programmes for regions, both for managers and industries. The REC is closely working with existing exporters, seeking to help them grow and diversify their businesses.

“Today, we provide and cover all types of financing needs for export activities, from working capital, financing and insurance for export-oriented production projects, to buyer financing, non-payment insurance and investment insurance abroad. And above all, we support the post-export cycle with guarantees and loans. But there is a further need to expand resources for financial support, to expand the capacity of government services, and to increase the operational efficiency of development institutions”, the REC's vice president noted.

“The number one trend of today is digitalisation. Last year we launched the digital platform ‘My Export’... We have digitised the most sought-after support measures. We have set ourselves the ambitious task of fundamentally changing an exporter’s relationship with the government and all agencies in the provision of public services for exporters”, he said, explaining the key format for transforming existing support measures. According to him, the first digitised services have already significantly reduced the time required to provide services.

“The sheer number of legal entities engaged in export activities in the country is of course not commensurate with the workforce of the REC Group. That said, we want to not only cover them all, but also increase their number. So how is that possible? We decided to create an entire ecosystem of support for exports by incorporating the regions into it. And the standard we developed has become our main tool for tackling this task”, Kobin concluded.