Young Russians doubt about starting their own business, but those who took a chance don't regret it. This is what the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2021/2022 data shows. In Russia the project is run by the Graduate School of Management of Saint Petersburg University (GSOM SPbU) research team under the financial support from Sber.

According to the country report, entrepreneurship activity distribution by different age groups has changed sufficiently since 2020. The most interesting trends are demonstrated by the generation born in the early 2000s.

Today an average Russian entrepreneur is 39 years old. A typical early entrepreneur — a person who is launching a business or did it not so long ago — is 37 years old. Owners of well-established companies that exist more than 3,5 years are slightly older — 43 years old on average. In the course of challenging 2021 marked by the pandemic, an average businessman has grown exactly one year older, which is primarily because young people have become less interested in starting their own businesses.

Before 2020 entrepreneurship activity of students and recent graduates of vocational and higher education institutions — young people between 18 and 24 — was constantly growing (2018 — 7%, 2019 — 14,5%, 2020 — 15,1%), but in 2021 fell to 12,2%. The highest growth of early entrepreneurs in 2020 was noted among zoomers, but in 2021 the rate decreased significantly — by 4,2 % at once (2021 — 12,6%, 2020 — 16,8%). Age groups of 25–34 (2021 — 31,1%, 2020 — 34,7%) and 35–44 (2021 — 29,9%, 2020 — 23,4%) are still leading among early entrepreneurs. The share of older generation aged 55–64 increased by 1.5 times (2021 — 9%, 2020 — 6%), and the share of 45–54 year olds decreased (2021 — 17,4%, 2020 — 19,2%).

Research lead Olga Verkhovskaya, Associate Professor at the Department of Strategic and International Management at GSOM SPbU comments on the emerging trend:

"Entrepreneurship is the key driver of public welfare and economic growth that allows to create new jobs and implement innovations for effective business development. Entrepreneurship activity level reflects the economic situation and dynamism. The data of 2021 in fact shows that young people less often consider launching their own business as a career choice and prefer steady employment. But there's another important trend. The age group of 18–24 has shown the most remarkable growth in well-established entrepreneurship activity — the rate has increased more than twice in a year for zoomers. We can say that young entrepreneurs who went for it before the pandemic managed to get over the difficulties quite well and continue to work.

In 2021, the share of young people aged 18–24 among owners of well-established businesses has grown abruptly (2021 — 5,5%, 2020 — 2,2%). The share of 35–44 year olds, who still represent the majority of well-established entrepreneurs, has increased too (2021 — 37%, 2020 31,2%), as well as the share of 45–54 year olds (2021 — 35,6%, 2020 — 20,4%. The remaining age groups show a sharp decrease in well-established entrepreneurship activity: the percent of young people of 25–34 years old has fallen more than twice (2021 — 11%, 2020 — 25,8 %) and the share of business community representatives aged 55–64 decreased almost twice (2021 — 11%, 2020 — 20,4%).

Various social and economic factors influence the level of youth entrepreneurship. GEM research experts named the insufficiency of the business education system as the most important and beneficial factor in 2021. According to the experts, higher education does not experience any problems, while the elementary and secondary education system does not respond to economic challenges and does not give enough knowledge for young people to do business. That is why new educational initiatives in this area are particularly important.

Today the students of Russian higher education institutions can join Business Class – a free online program for business skill development created by Sber. Participants have access to 22 online courses of various topics and levels: from idea search and business planning to marketing, soft skills and AI. In January 2022 a new course How to make money from your hobby. A course for freelancers and self-employed was launched on the platform that would be helpful for novice entrepreneurs and those who have ever considered starting a business. This is the first Russian comprehensive course for self-employed that takes into account the whole process from idea search to its implementation and promotion, as well as economic aspects of business activity. It addresses such topics as finance, strategy, marketing and legal issues with an emphasis on specific life hacks and practical solutions.

According to Sber, a total of 2.5 million entrepreneurs and self-employed are undergoing various courses developed with the bank's assistance.