Russia Cohort #1: pitch to Russian investors, join the UpGrowth delegation to Kazan
UpGrowth and the Investment and Venture Fund of the Republic of Tatarstan (IVF RT), the state fund behind the Russian Venture Forum, are selecting 15 Algerian startups for the first corridor cohort. Selected startups pitch directly to the fund, join the Algerian startup delegation UpGrowth is organising for the next forum in Kazan, and get matched to paid corporate pilots. Applications close on August 31.
- Pitch session in front of IVF RT
- Algerian delegation to RVF in Kazan
- Paid pilots with Tatarstan companies
- No Russian legal entity needed to apply
Find your track in the corridor
Three taps. We point you to the part of the corridor that fits, and prefill your application so nothing is asked twice.
What matters most for your startup right now?
What stage are you at?
Which sector fits you best?
Answer the three questions to see your track.
What the 15 selected startups get
Pitch to a Russian state fund
An online pitch session in front of the IVF RT team (USD 134 M invested, co-investor leverage of up to 1:9) and its investor network. No travel needed.
The Algerian delegation to RVF in Kazan
Top startups of the cohort join the Algerian startup delegation UpGrowth is organising for the next Russian Venture Forum: 7,000+ participants, 150+ investors, 60+ venture funds. Travel details are communicated directly to selected startups.
Paid corporate pilots
Tatarstan companies post technological challenges they pay to have solved. Cohort profiles are matched first when the briefs arrive.
Free preparation and follow-through
A pitch preparation session with the UpGrowth team, and support that continues afterwards: follow-up routing, market entry, soft landing in Russia.
Free to apply · 6 required fields · about 4 minutes
Who is IVF RT
The Investment and Venture Fund of the Republic of Tatarstan is the region's state institution for technology development, created in 2004. It runs acceleration programs, corporate venture funds, university startup programs and investment platforms, and, on the fund's own figures, every ruble it invests attracts up to nine more from co-investors.
Why Tatarstan
Tatarstan is not a random region on the map. It is one of Russia's top investment destinations, with an industrial base (KAMAZ, Tatneft, Alabuga SEZ), the Innopolis tech city, and a capital, Kazan, that has hosted the Universiade, the FIFA World Cup, WorldSkills and the BRICS summit. The indicators below are the Republic's own figures, as supplied by IVF RT.
investment region in Russia, attracting USD 1-2 bn per year
in Russia's National Investment Climate Rating, jointly with Moscow
in the maturity index of sci-tech development management
technology parks and investment platforms, led by Innopolis
special economic zones and priority development areas
institutions of higher education feeding the talent pipeline
gross regional product of the Republic in 2025
innovation activity among organisations, against about 12.5% across Russia
companies operating in the Innopolis special economic zone
production facilities in the Alabuga SEZ under import substitution
residents in the Tatarstan IT Park ecosystem
Russian Venture Forum
RVF is the largest venture capital event in Russia, organized by IVF RT and held in the Republic of Tatarstan since 2007. The 2026 edition, the 20th, took place on April 8-10 at Kazan Expo. IVF RT has announced the 21st Russian Venture Forum for 8-9 April 2027 in Kazan, and that is the edition Cohort #1 is being prepared for. The figures below are IVF RT's own results for the 2026 edition.
What a startup gets there
Curated visibility
A selected exhibition and pitch slot in front of VC, PE and institutional investors, with the credibility of having passed selection.
One-stop financing ecosystem
Grants, venture funds, private equity, corporations and development institutions in one venue, covering the path from idea to large-scale deployment.
Soft landing support
Localization, partnerships and growth support that continues after the forum ends.
A large, less crowded market
Strong demand for technology solutions and import substitution, with lower competitive intensity than saturated Western markets.
Curated meetings
Access to a meeting programme arranged in advance with relevant investors, corporations and potential customers.
Corporate pilots
Access to companies and discussions around possible testing of the technology at a customer's site.
Acceleration programmes
Access to relevant programmes for selected teams.
Deal Desk
Access to post-forum support: further negotiations, coordination with partners, pilot discussions and next steps.
RVF Alumni
Access to the community of international forum participants.
RVF Investors Club
Year-round engagement between startups, investors, corporations and development institutions.
Networking
Connect with investors, technology companies, corporations and members of the international RVF ecosystem.
Innovation exchange programme
Access to acceleration and market entry programmes, business missions, exchanges between partner ecosystems, and meetings with investors, corporations and soft landing partners.
Add what matters to you
Tell us in the form, in the "Why Russia, in your own words" field, which meetings, activities or opportunities would make your RVF participation more valuable. IVF RT and UpGrowth can review the ideas and look at how they might fit the programme.
Technology & Investment Sectors at the Russian Venture Forum
The forum integrates the full spectrum of industrial technologies. If your startup fits one of these, the corridor is relevant to you. Select a sector to read what IVF RT says about it: the demand, the instrument behind it, the sites and the caveats, in their own words.
New Materials & Chemistry
This area has a working instrument behind it: the New Chemical Industry fund has been operating since July 2025 and takes TRL 4-9 projects with a target market above RUB 2 bn.
Industrial Technology & Electronics
IVF RT names the sites precisely: the InnoPark technopark inside Innopolis, the Laishevo industrial park across 116 hectares, and the regional centre for unmanned aerial systems.
Industrial AI & Digitalisation
The customer sits on the industrial site, not in the IT sector.
Instrument. The New Chemical Industry fund's team has over 50 industrial pilot deployments with Russian oil and gas companies, and the pilot runs on the customer's site.
Construction Technology
The republic ranks 2nd among Russian regions by volume of construction works.
Instrument. The Osnovanie sector fund is being set up, with launch announced for 2026: its portfolio includes ORIGAMI, SmartBlock, Terri Platform and Nanosoft.
AgriBioTech & Food Technology
Agriculture accounts for 4.1% of gross regional product, placing the republic 4th among Russian regions.
Medicine & Health Technology
This area is part of IVF RT's investment declaration.
Demand. Genetic and cell technologies, medical devices, digital healthcare, pharmaceutical substances.
Site. PharmMedPolis, 18,000 sq m.
Caveats. Two caveats worth knowing in advance: by market size this sector is not comparable to chemistry or machinery, and bringing a medical device to market requires state registration in the Russian Federation.
IT & Telecommunications
Demand. Enterprise systems, BI, ERP and MES, operating systems and office suites, cybersecurity, GIS.
Site. The Innopolis SEZ, 342 companies and 12,500 jobs, with 12 Forbes-100 companies among the residents and a 1,000-rack Tier III data centre.
Caveat. The sector's own share is 2.8% of gross regional product: the paying customer sits in industry.
Partner Finance
Tatarstan is one of four Russian regions operating the experimental regime under Federal Law 417-FZ, extended to 1 September 2028: Ijara-Leasing runs a portfolio above USD 15 M there, and fintech is on the Innopolis consortium's list of required solutions.
FinTech
At IVF RT this sector belongs to the Partner Finance area. Tatarstan is one of four Russian regions operating the experimental regime under Federal Law 417-FZ, extended to 1 September 2028: Ijara-Leasing runs a portfolio above USD 15 M there, and fintech is on the Innopolis consortium's list of required solutions.
GreenTech & Energy
At IVF RT this sector belongs to the New Materials & Chemistry and Industrial AI & Digitalisation areas.
Potential demand. Materials for chemical power sources, energy storage systems, energy-efficiency technologies for industrial and oil and gas facilities, and industrial water treatment.
Transport & Mobility
At IVF RT this sector belongs to the Industrial Technology & Electronics area.
Relevant areas. Unmanned aerial systems, autonomous transport, components, electronics and automation technologies.
Education & Urban Technology
At IVF RT this sector belongs to the IT & Telecommunications and Construction Technology areas.
Relevant areas. Education technology, digital solutions for urban environments, PropTech and infrastructure management technologies.
Sectors Where Demand Is Already Established
IVF RT names five sectors where the demand is already formed. The companies, figures and sites below are IVF RT's own account of their republic, and the firms named are potential customers for an incoming startup, not clients of the fund.
New Materials & Chemistry
Potential customers. Nizhnekamskneftekhim, Kazanorgsintez, the regional tyre complex and Khimgrad Technopolis.
Demand. New materials, chemical technologies and solutions for industrial production.
Key fact. Tatarstan produces more than 44% of Russia's synthetic rubber and around 60% of its truck tyres.
Industrial Technology & Electronics
Potential customers. KAMAZ, companies based in the Alabuga SEZ, ICL, Transmashholding and Russian Railways.
Demand. Components, instrumentation, industrial robotics, unmanned aerial systems and manufacturing automation.
Sites. InnoPark, the Laishevo industrial park and unmanned aerial systems infrastructure.
Industrial AI & Digitalisation
Potential customers. Tatneft, Tatneft Digital Development, oilfield service companies and Gazprom VNIIGAZ.
Demand. Well and pipeline telemetry and diagnostics, predictive analytics, computer vision and energy-efficiency technologies.
Key fact. Extractive industries account for 19.0% of Tatarstan's gross regional product.
Construction Technology
Demand. ConTech, PropTech, engineering software and CAD/BIM, modular construction, robotics and digital platforms for managing construction and renovation projects.
Key fact. Construction accounts for 7.0% of Tatarstan's gross regional product.
AgriBioTech & Food Technology
Potential customers. Agricultural holdings, food producers, water utilities and poultry farms.
Demand. Biological products, genetics and breeding, bioinformatics, machine vision, AI in agriculture and industrial water treatment.
Infrastructure. The Agrobiotechnopark and the GenBioTekh centre, up to 600,000 studies per year.
What Russian partners look for
Based on the forum's own materials and our exchanges with IVF RT, Russian corporations and funds screen foreign startups on four practical things:
Pilot-ready product
A solution that can be deployed in a real pilot within months, not a concept that needs years of R&D.
Import substitution fit
Russian industry actively replaces Western technology suppliers. If your product substitutes one, you start with demand.
Localization willingness
Readiness to adapt the product, work with a local partner and, at scale, localize part of the operation.
B2B discipline
Clear pricing, documentation and the ability to run a structured pilot with a large corporation.
Part of that detail is now published above, sector by sector, in IVF RT's own words. More is expected from IVF RT on corporate requirements and on the technological challenges Tatarstan companies may choose to put forward.
Open the full knowledge module: the 8-chapter Russia market guideA full support ecosystem, including Islamic finance
IVF RT is a state development institution that has supported technology companies for more than 20 years. It makes multi-sector direct investments from pre-seed to pre-IPO/IPO and, on its own figures, attracts up to RUB 9 of co-investment for every RUB 1 the fund invests. Its ecosystem includes the New Chemical Industry fund for specialty and mid-scale chemicals, operating since July 2025; the Osnovanie fund for ConTech, PropTech and construction robotics, which is being set up with launch announced for 2026; AgriBioTech for biotechnology, genetics and digital agriculture; and funds for university startups. A separate area is Ijara-Leasing, partnership-based financing for equipment, vehicles, machinery and other business assets under Sharia principles: the leading private Ijarah leasing company in Russia, with an active portfolio above USD 15 M.
Paid pilots: corporate challenges from Tatarstan
Mirroring our Skolkovo corporate challenge program, IVF RT is collecting real technological challenges from Tatarstan companies: concrete problems they will pay to have solved. Algerian startups whose profile matches a challenge will be introduced directly. Leave your profile below to be matched when the first briefs arrive.
Joint pitch session
UpGrowth and IVF RT will run a joint online pitch session where selected Algerian startups present directly to the fund's team and its network. Tick "Pitch session" in the form below and we will come back to you with the date and the selection steps.
How the pitch session worksWhat to know before applying
IVF RT is explicit about the thing that stops most founders before they start: you do not need a Russian legal entity to begin. A company can apply, meet potential partners, discuss pilot projects and take part in the Russian Venture Forum without registering a company in Russia.
A Russian entity becomes necessary only when a company moves to the direct investment stage with IVF RT. The fund says that at that point IVF RT and UpGrowth help with the localization process, the choice of infrastructure and the setup that best fits an entry into the Russian market.
IVF RT also notes that companies localizing in Tatarstan can benefit from special economic zones and preferential regimes, including reduced tax rates, zero rates on selected taxes, ready-to-use infrastructure and other incentives for technology and industrial business. Which regime a given company actually qualifies for is a decision for the Russian administration, so treat it as something to examine with the fund, not as a rate you can count on.
IVF RT direct investment ticket sizes
These are the fund's own ranges by stage, as IVF RT states them. They describe IVF RT's investment policy, not an amount offered to any applicant: applying, being selected or pitching commits nobody to invest. They are set in roubles, which is how we publish them.
A company from Russia or Tatarstan?
The corridor works both ways. Looking for Algerian startups to pilot, invest in or partner with? Send us a scouting brief and we shortlist from 2,500+ mapped startups. Setting up in Algeria? We handle the soft landing: company formation, domiciliation, banking, fully remote.
International partners under a signed MoU
Prefer to talk first?
Reach the corridor team directly:
