On September 22nd, an online conference, the "Digital technologies: the possibilites for Russian companies to enter the German market" took place.
“We proceed from the premise that Germany is one of our main partners not only in the foreign trade, but also in technological, financial, manufacturing, the sphere of tourism, medical sectors and substantial energy projects... The opportunity to be accessible to the German market, to use the positive factors that exist in Germany today for work with digital technologies is very interesting for our companies....
“I think that today's Conference will be useful for all participants and those, who attend it,” said Mr. Suren Vardanyan, the MCCI’s Vice President, in his welcoming speech.
The Head of “NRW.INVEST”’s representative office, Ms. Ekaterina Karpushenkova, described the possible directions of the North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) region development and opportunities for Russian innovative companies, focused on the German market. The “NRW” is located in the West of Germany, it is the scientific, industrial and technological centre of the country and the world's largest exhibition site.
The economy of this region is based on over 712 small and medium enterprises. There are about 20,000 foreign firms, 70 higher education institutions, more than 60 technology parks and business incubators, as well as 30 technology transfer centers. In 2019, the contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises to the country's GDP amounted to 25%.
The speaker spoke about the main directions of innovation policy of the region, its platforms of digital economy, of clusters and partnerships in the current trends, as well as its educational and scientific cooperation with Russian companies (there are about 300 of them in North Rhine - Westphalia).
The Head of Digitalization, Industry and International Cooperation of the North Westphalian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (160 thousand member companies), Mr. Van Diel Sebastian, made a presentation on “Munsterland, as a place for business development in Germany. Opportunities for cooperation with Russian companies". He said that about 109 Russian companies export products to this region and 387 German companies export theirs to Russia. He listed the largest German companies operating in the region he represents, among which 239 are digital companies.
"We organize regional digital summits, at which we exchange our collective experience," he said. The CCI, represented by the speaker, is also developing a program to support “smart” production and digitalization.
Moscow posseses a positive experience of cooperation with Germany in the field of digital technologies", - noted the Head of the International Cooperation Department of the Moscow Innovation Cluster Foundation, Ms. Alyona Dolgova. She introduced the audience to the history of the Moscow Innovation Cluster and its current tasks, in particular, the creation of a single digital platform “i.moscow”, and talked about the services that will be available to its participants, as well as the measures of supporting procedures and the program of scaling and continuous development for start-ups "Moscow Accelerator".
A jurist and a certified translator for the “HLB Schumacher”, Ms. Veronica Winstraer shared with the audience the information about legal and tax aspects of establishing subsidiaries and joint ventures in Germany. She talked about different profiles of companies, noting that the most important issue in choosing a designation for a company is the explicit description of the responsibilities of partners, outlined the advantages of joint ventures, and introduced the audience to the types of existing taxes, peculiarities of their financial liabilities and subsequent collection. According to her, the average total tax burden on companies with attracted capital in Germany is 29.83%. Then Ms. Winstraer provided a brief overview of the implied rights of residence and the employment law in Germany, particularly focusing on the content of an employment contract.
Mr. Michael Toberg, the Managing Director of “HLB Schumacher”, made a presentation on "Startup and SME financing opportunities: German experience". He noted that his country has more than 800 different supporting programs, outlined strategies and entry points for startups, explained in detail how to apply and gave examples of working with three government programs. "You need to outline a clear strategy and follow it - then you can find a support program that will take your business to the next level," he said with certainty.
During the conference, all speakers answered questions from the audience.
"The work should continue bilaterally," Mr. Vardanyan concluded. “Cooperation between our countries is one of the most powerful growth points in the world economic system, mutually beneficial for Russia and Germany".