OREANDA-NEWS. June 29, 2011. i-Free has stepped forward as a partner for The Art of Going Global, a conference on technology enterprise hosted by Digital October and Garage Technology Ventures, a venture fund. The other partners of the forum are the Russian Venture Company and BIT, a widely renowned enterprise competition.

The Art of Going Global is a conference for technology startup managers, investors and entrepreneurs. Among the presenters at the forum are technology enterprise wizard Guy Kawasaki and Bill Reichert, Managing Director of Garage Technology Ventures. The conference will also assess the results of this year’s Business of Innovative Technology Awards (BIT’2011).

Technological innovation and enterprise have always been the top strategic priorities for i-Free, so its support for The Art of Going Global conference is only logical.

“i-Free boasts a wealth of hands-on expertise on how to develop and successfully launch hi-tech products in Russia and internationally,” said Dmitry Repin, the General Director of Digital October. “It is certain to us that i-Free’s expertise and capability will serve many Russian projects and startups very well. i-Free is currently helping our center to develop its NFC infrastructure, so that Digital October could tap the capabilities of modern mobile phones more fully in the future.”

The Art of Going Global, which will run for two days, 30 June and 1 July, will feature “The Art of Going Global” and “The Art of Raising Resources” sections, a roundtable titled “The Ecosystem of Global Technology Enterprise: Where is the Place for it in Russia?”, a “startup boutique,” presentations by BIT’2011 finalists, the announcement of BIT’2011 winners and an award ceremony.

Digital October has promised a perfectly comfortable environment in which the conference participants will discuss the relevant aspects of integrating Russian businesses and startups into the global ecosystem of technology enterprise.

“There is no dearth of talented developers, engineers, programmers and startup managers in Russia, so this forum comes as a much-needed boost to the industry,” said Georgy Zamyshlyaev, who manages the innovation projects division at i-Free. “This conference will help market players better understand the industry’s most formidable needs, assess the new market trends and engage in constructive dialogue with each other. It is essential for us to be part of this forum. We plan to boost our presence in the technology markets, and one way for us to do this will be by financing projects of promise.”

i-Free will unveil its i-Free Ventures fund at The Art of Going Global.

For more information on The Art of Going Global, visit: http://digitaloctober.ru/events.

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i-Free, a Russian innovation-focused company operating in the CIS market since 2001, is a specialist developer and implementer of cutting-edge products and services in mobile technology, electronic finance, digital content distribution, electronic payment systems, micropayments, applications for smartphones and new network devices, B2C digital product marketing, B2B mobile marketing projects, and NFC technology and services.

Outside Russia, i-Free operates successfully and has offices in Kiev (Ukraine), Minsk (Belarus), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Mumbai (India), Beijing (China) and Sao-Paolo (Brazil). i-Free products and services are on the market in over 100 countries.

i-Free, headquartered in St. Petersburg, also has an office in Moscow. The company currently employs more than 350 staff.

i-Free is partners with the leading mobile operators in Russia and the rest of the CIS, as well as global mobile equipment vendors, banks, transnational brands and trademarks, major media holdings, publishers and online resources.