On September 11-13 the IV Eastern Economic Forum was held at the Far Eastern Federal University. This year, the topic of the forum was formulated as follows: "The Far East: expanding the boundaries of opportunities". The participants discussed the forms and methods of supporting entrepreneurial activity in Russia, particularly in the Far East. GSOM SPbU Research team of Global Entrepreneurship Monitor  (GEM) project  commented on one of the reached agreements along with the proposal by Alexander Kalinin, the head of the public organization “Russia Support” to introduce an entrepreneurship course for schoolchildren in the Far East.

 

One of the forum results was an agreement on cooperation between the joint-stock company Business Environment (a subsidiary of PJSC Sberbank, created to develop small and medium-sized businesses in Russia) and Khabarovsk Territory, Chukotka Autonomous Region and Jewish Autonomous Region. Agreement is aimed at creating training programs for regional entrepreneurs, including the ones with the involvement of successful businessmen.

GEM experts noted that the need for training programs and entrepreneurs socialization for the development of entrepreneurial activity is confirmed by research results. According to the GEM data (GEM 2017 national report) respondents who responded positively to the question about highlighting the success stories of entrepreneurs, assessed the conditions for creating a business in their region of residence twice better than others. Also, according to GEM, people who believe that they are better prepared and possess the necessary entrepreneurial skills, as well as those who have familiar entrepreneurs, are much more positive about the opportunities for the entrepreneurial start. Such observations suggest the possible impact of the development of entrepreneurial skills and socialization of entrepreneurs on the spread of a positive attitude towards business in society and the growth of entrepreneurial activity in general.

According to the researchers, when forming training programs, it is necessary to pay attention to areas in which there is a lack of knowledge. The data of the survey conducted by researchers at Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg State University in 2018 showed that entrepreneurs would like to strengthen their knowledge in accounting (32.4% of respondents), develop skills in studying the market, competitors and consumers (31.5%) and improve awareness in the field of marketing and advertising (26.4%). At the same time, while identifying the areas that are most important for the successful launch and introduction of a business, entrepreneurs pointed out their skills in studying the market, competitors and consumers (41.2%), marketing skills (23.6%) and legal aspects of running a business (23.6%). %).

In addition, GEM experts believe that there is significant potential of such training programs. The survey data from 2018 show that now less than 10% of entrepreneurs use training courses to develop their business.

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) is the world's largest study of entrepreneurial activity. In 2017, about 200 thousand people from 54 countries took part in the survey. The participating countries represent 68% of world’s population and more than 86% of GDP. GEM helps to increase the awareness of the authorities in business issues and to adjust their policies regarding the development of entrepreneurship in many countries around the world.

Russia has been part of the project for over 10 years and is represented by Graduate School of Management St. Petersburg University research team. Since 2018 GEM Russia project has been implemented in cooperation with Sberbank. The next national report for 2018/2019 will be published and presented in spring 2019.