Russian firm, Yandex is waking up to assist startups with funding with the initiation of Yandex.Factory. Yandex.Factory is a startup investment program that will provide funding to startup projects in Russia as well as those from the International arena and this investment is by no means small.
The firm plans to finance promising startup projects that are promising enough to arouse interest amongst investors. The Factory will assist the project’s product development or fund its technology, which can be well worth over a hundred thousand US dollars. This funding will be available for a period of one year and would also include experts from Yandex working closely with the startup teams, bringing their expertise as an added incentive to the funding.
Following is what Yandex is looking forward to in projects to invest in:
- The project doesn’t necessarily have to be finalized.
- The teams can share an interesting idea and if it fits the bill, mentors in the program will work closely with them.
- If it’s a technology project, Yandex.Factory looks forward to have a working prototype in order to make it applicable for financing.
There is another program from Yandex, Yandex.Start that is a quarterly event focused at bringing startup teams face to face with experts at Yandex. While it is not compulsory to participate in this program to avail funding from Yandex.Factory, but it is highly recommended to have a closer experience with potential investors on any give day. Simplifies your part of hard work ensuring you have exactly what would impress them. I would highly recommend this, especially for those who are in Moscow or close by.
What makes this all the more interesting is that there aren’t a lot of Nordic nor Baltic companies with similar kind of programs on a company level. While Russia’s startup ecosystem may be slightly more immature than elsewhere, it is catching up with leaps and bounds.
In case you have a brilliant idea that you think is bound to fetch funding you can visit Yandex.Factory for more information.
