Sber and 500 Global, previously known as 500 Startups, is launching its fourth batch of  Sber500, an international accelerator for technology startups. This year’s program will have  increased coverage of 50 teams. The deadline for entries is February 7, 2022. https://sberbank-500.ru/en 

The accelerator invites seed-stage projects to participate, offering solutions in one of 20  technological fields: advertising and marketing, geotargeting and cartography, logistics,  computer vision, HR and training, telehealth, cybersecurity and more. Projects need to have  MVPs (minimum viable products) and first sales. Startups can apply not only from Russia,  but also from all over the world, with priority given to participants from Kazakhstan, Belarus,  Armenia, Azerbaijan, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Israel and Great Britain. 

The accelerator program is designed for 10 weeks and involves a detailed study of the  product and business development – an immersion in marketing and sales, scaling,  fundraising, and pitching. This year, 500 startups will be able to go through the bootcamp,  while 50 startups will participate in the main program and 25 of those will be selected to  participate in Demo Day: 

• Stage one (an online bootcamp) is the basic part of the training. Teams will work out  a value proposition, learn how to build communications with different target  segments. Upon completion of the bootcamp, 50 projects will proceed to the next  stage or receive an invitation to the fast track even without completing the main  accelerator program 

• Stage two is the first half of the main acceleration program. Teams and their mentors test several hypotheses to find the best growth hacking opportunities. At this stage,  startups will also have the opportunity to meet with companies in the Sber  ecosystem, corporations and foundations to discuss possible partnerships. The best  25 startups will advance to the final stage of the accelerator. 

• Stage three is the intensive offline training: workshops, individual work with mentors,  and preparations for the Demo Day. 

All stages, as before, will be supervised by mentors and international experts with  experience in training successful companies worldwide. 

The finalists will speak at the Demo Day, where they will present their products and vie for  partnerships with companies in the Sber ecosystem and partner corporations, as well as  investments from the Fort Ross Seed Fund and other partner funds. Graduates of the three  Sber500 batches have already raised more than RUB 800 mn in investments, of which  about RUB 200 mn came from Sber, and signed several hundred contracts with big 

companies.

Lev Khasis, first deputy chairman of the Executive Board, Sberbank: “Sber500 is expanding its reach significantly this year. Last season, we allowed a record of  560 startups to go through the boot camp training. In the new batch, we will double the  number of startups that will have access to the main part of the program, which comes with  individual work with mentors and exclusive networking opportunities. The increase in  coverage will allow even more startups to gain recognition – the combination of the  expertise of Sber and 500 Global in the Sber500 accelerator attaches a certain seal of  quality to them in the global venture market, as well as in Russia.” 

Christine Tsai, CEO, 500 Global and Founding Partner: 

“Our partnership with Sber is key to ecosystem development in Russia, and aims to help  Russia grow its capabilities for innovation and technology. We recognize that ecosystems  are built not only by supporting talented founders, but by having engaged industry  stakeholders that can help these startups grow. Sber is well positioned to convene key  ecosystem players in Russia.”