R
ussia is finalizing plans to launch a Silicon Valley-like "innovation center" near Moscow. The Kremlin has selected a patch of farmland near a private business school, has set aside funding, and this week named a Nobel laureate, the physicist Zhores Alferov, as the project's science advisor. Now comes the hard part: making it work.
This means deciding what kind of operating and funding model to
pursue, and making sure Russia's legal and financial structures will
support entrepreneurship. "There certainly isn't any shortage of really
bright technical people with great technological ideas in Russia, and
that's a strong suit," says Josh Lerner,
a professor of investment banking at Harvard Business School. "But the
big thing has to be: 'What are the barriers to being an entrepreneur and
how can we address them?' The entrepreneurial environment represents
somewhat of a challenge."
In particular, Russia will need to prove that inventors can secure intellectual property and protect it in the courts, and that investors won't face onerous taxes or other restrictions in financing new ventures. "I think all those areas represent challenges to them," Lerner adds. "My guess is that litigating intellectual property will be challenging."
To read the full, original article click on this link: Technology Review: Can the Kremlin's Silicon Valley Succeed?
Author: David
Talbot
