More than 100 participants gathered at the Congress of Regional Investment Agencies and Development Corporations in Nizhny Novgorod

More than 100 representatives of government bodies, development agencies, and business associations from 68 regions of Russia are participating in the V Congress of Regional Investment Agencies and Development Corporations in Nizhny Novgorod on October 16-17. This is the first time the event is being held in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. The organizers are the National Association of Investment and Development Agencies (NAAIR), the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI), and the Nizhny Novgorod Region Development Corporation.

“It is a great responsibility for us to host the heads of development agencies from different regions of Russia on Nizhny Novgorod soil. In the context of competition for investors, each federal subject is constantly searching for unique business proposals and building a system of long-term work with investors. At the same time, the exchange of experience and successful universal tools is extremely necessary, as any new project contributes to the development of the entire Russian economy,” noted Gleb Nikitin, Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

Igor Karachin, First Deputy General Director and Head of the Office of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, emphasized that the Nizhny Novgorod Region team has done significant work to create favorable business conditions in the region.

“I would also like to note the increasing role of the country’s development agencies in coordinating activities to improve the business environment. Currently, the Agency for Strategic Initiatives is working on all aspects of the national investment rating, from methodology to models of regional activities aimed at improving the investment climate and specific practices, mainly of a non-financial nature, that allow regions to improve the business environment,” said Igor Karachin.

During the business session “National Model of Targeted Business Conditions,” Andrey Sanosyan, Deputy Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, presented the region’s experience in building a system of long-term work with investors. In particular, he spoke about the implementation of regional investment standard elements in the region: an investment declaration, a set of investment rules, a development agency (Development Corporation), an investment committee (Council for Development Strategy and Investments), and an investment map, development of territories with preferential tax regimes, digitalization of the investment project support mechanism, implementation of the lean project “Through Investment Flow” aimed at simplifying investor interaction with resource supply organizations, and the digital construction management solution “State Information System for Urban Development Activities of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.”

“Each participant here understands the importance of working with investors at the regional level. Business, regardless of scale, is the foundation of our economy. The institute of development agencies has proven its usefulness for improving the investment climate in regions,” said Andrey Sanosyan.

The congress participants also discussed models of work to improve the investment climate in regions, aspects of development agencies’ functioning, and their future vision.

The Nizhny Novgorod Region Development Corporation, which currently supports more than 330 projects with an expected investment volume of nearly 380 billion rubles, shared its experience in supporting investment projects in the region.

“Each investment project, regardless of scale, requires an individual approach, so development agency specialists constantly improve their skills and develop new solutions aimed at creating comfortable conditions for business. Events like the Congress of Regional Investment Agencies and Development Corporations allow us to get acquainted with best practices from colleagues across the country and bring something new to our work,” noted Igor Ishchenko, Director General of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Development Corporation.

Additionally, the congress featured a presentation of the best management solutions for development agencies and advanced investment practices of regions.

“Despite the challenging economic situation in the country and budget cuts, regional development agencies demonstrate resilience to external and internal risks, remaining reliable partners for businesses in implementing investment projects in regions. Traditionally, we hold congresses of regional development agencies every two years to synchronize efforts, exchange experiences, discuss prospects, and growth points. In addition to discussing growth points, we address challenges and key issues in the activities of development agencies and develop mechanisms for their resolution,” said Rafael Khusyainshin, Executive Director and Deputy Chairman of the NAAIR Board.

On the second day of the congress, it is planned to study the practice of regional development agency operations using the example of JSC “Nizhny Novgorod Region Development Corporation,” including familiarization with the organizational structure, investor attraction and support model, and digital services.