Sberbank : Sber concludes memorandum of cooperation with VEB.RF and Google

Sber signed a strategic partnership agreement with state development corporation VEB.RF and Google in the framework of the 24^th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

Sberbank CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board Herman Gref, VEB.RF Chairman Igor Shuvalov, and Google Russia Managing Director Julia Solovieva signed the document. The parties agreed to cooperate in the following areas:

• implementation of joint projects for SMEs (including self-employed persons).
• organization of joint seminars, lectures, and case studies.
• exchange of experience with regard to the implementation of innovative IT in the work of SMEs, including self-employed persons.

BusinessClass, our free online program in collaboration with Google for the development of business skills for small businesses, turns five this year. It has almost one million participants who have, during that time, started over 14,000 new businesses in various parts of Russia, created 58,000 new jobs, and paid RUB 45 bn in taxes to budgets of all levels.

We consider this to be a good practice and we are happy to share our experience in perfecting interdisciplinary knowledge related to financial and entrepreneurial literacy and implementing new technologies in education with our partners.

Herman Gref

CEO, Chairman of the Executive Board, Sberbank

The BusinessClass project has proved successful and in-demand among entrepreneurs in Russia's regions. VEB.RF Group joining Sber and Google's partnership will allow us to offer additional opportunities for education and development to small and medium entrepreneurs based on the BusinessClass program and the Razvivai.rf platform. Today digitization is a key point on the agenda in order for a business to succeed. Continuous learning and improving your skills are just as important.

IgorShuvalov

Chairman,VEB.RF

Google values its partnership with Sber, VEB.RF, and Razvivai.rf. The signing of this memorandum is a milestone in the strengthening of these relations and an important contribution to improving financial literacy and the development of the entrepreneurial environment in Russia.

Julia Solovieva

Managing Director, Google Russia

Several projects are to be implemented in the framework of the memorandum. The first is Manage Your Finances. A Practical Course on Accounting, Taxes, and Law for Entrepreneurs on the BusinessClass learning platform by Google and Sber in cooperation with the young but established business product aggregator Razvivai.rf.

The course consists of 13 lessons, each of which contains a review of the topic accompanied by examples and advice from successful entrepreneurs, lawyers, and accountants. Among them are Efim Kolodkin, CEO of the event venue rental service BASH!Today, and Guzel Gibadullina, Managing Partner and Financial Director of the consulting and auditing organization Gibadullin & Partners.

The experts explain the capital needed to start a business, what pricing model is the most effective, which tax system to choose, when a business will 'break even,' and how soon an entrepreneur will see a return on their investments.

Everyone who takes the course will learn to construct their own unique financial model that will help them objectively evaluate the profitability of a business and assess their financial needs.