PJSC Sberbank : Sber youth accelerator Demo Day to use XR for first time

Sber Z and SberStudent, the accelerator programs for the development of entrepreneurial talent among schoolchildren and students, postgraduates, and researchers, respectively, will hold their Demo Day on October 20 in Moscow. The 20 best youth teams will present their startups to Sber executives and investors in the format of a technological XR show.

The startup pitches will be presented in a virtual world created with the help of cutting-edge extended reality immersive technology. The online broadcast of the XR show will be available to anyone interested.

This year, 24,500 people from 85 Russian regions applied to participate in SberZ and SberStudent. Over the course of six months, the participants studied the basics of entrepreneurship, learning how to determine their target audience, find a business model that pays off, organize teamwork, and make their first sales. The top 20 teams will present their projects in fintech, healthcare, education, gaming, and service automation in the final.

Following the presentations, a jury of experts headed by Herman Gref, CEO and president of the Sberbank Executive Board, will determine the three winning teams for each accelerator. The teams will split the prize fund and will be eligible for a partnership with major Russian and foreign companies and initial investments from venture funds and business angels. School students will also receive preferential treatment when applying for university.

Natalia Magidey, head of Sber's startups ecosystem:

"The teams of school and university students have cleared a difficult six-month path to turn their ideas into viable and attractive products. For the participants, Demo Day is simultaneously the final stage of the competition and the starting point. Even if not all today's finalists go on to develop their business projects, the entrepreneurship basics and soft skills they learn through the accelerator will help them achieve any goals they set themselves."

The Demo Day online broadcast starts at 3 p.m. (GMT+3) on October 20 and can be watched by clicking this link. The broadcast will also be shown at Boiling Point network locations in 20 Russian cities.

SberZ is a federal acceleration program for students in grades 8-11 designed to develop their entrepreneurial skills. The students gain specialized knowledge and create startup projects under the guidance of mentors. In 2021, 14,500 school students from 85 Russian regions expressed their interest in participating in the accelerator.

SberStudent is a national accelerator for undergraduate students, graduate students, and research fellows organized by Sber in collaboration with the Stanford Center for Professional Development. The participants complete online courses on technological entrepreneurship from Stanford Online and then create their own startups under the guidance of mentors. In 2021, 10,000 university students and research fellows from 85 Russian regions applied to participate in SberStudent.