Sber supports regional business in entering foreign markets

For the region, the effectiveness of international cooperation is measured by specific results: new export contracts, investments, production and jobs. Sber helps translate agreements with foreign partners into real business projects. Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sberbank Alexander Vedyakhin at the plenary session “Development of international cooperation at the merger of the Oka and the Volga”, which took place within the framework of the Nizhny Novgorod Economic Forum, identified key areas for this.

Alexander Vedyakhin, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sberbank:

The first direction is to help regional businesses enter foreign markets. It is important to understand where their products are in demand, to find potential buyers, suppliers and partners in production cooperation. For this, Sber has specific tools. For example, the Business Guide service allows you to select suppliers or buyers in China for a specific request of the company and check counterparties. The second direction is to provide business with the opportunity to conduct international settlements. Here, Sber has created an infrastructure that allows payments in various currencies in more than 140 countries. And we continue to develop it, including through international payments in cryptocurrency. The third direction is to support the company along the entire path of international business development. This is not only about banking products, but also about assistance with the examination of contracts, logistics, customs and insurance.”.

Gleb Nikitin, Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region:

“The world is changing. Trade routes are being rebuilt, and regions play an increasingly important role in international cooperation. Nizhny Novgorod region can become one of the pillars of the new architecture of partnerships of our country. The strategic advantage of the current situation is that Nizhny Novgorod and domestic enterprises in general are learning to compete with the world's leading manufacturers in the most difficult conditions, invent new ones, improve product quality, and look for loopholes. Thus, we are becoming stronger, primarily in the direction of import substitution. We decided to try another tactic – to create offices in other countries on the basis of local partners. We already have the first such experience with India. We will try to build similar bridges with China, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates and Brazil.

Sber works with friendly countries. India is strengthening its position in international markets, including Russia. According to Alexander Vedyakhin, 300 categories of imported goods may be of interest to Russian customers.

Cooperation between the two countries has long gone beyond trade. The number of investment projects in India with the participation of Russian capital is increasing. Russian companies are increasingly considering attracting specialists from India. To this end, Sber, together with partners, launched a digital platform to attract foreign employees. The first region included in the pilot was the Nizhny Novgorod region. The platform services are already used by 16 companies in the region.