OREANDA-NEWS. November 15, 2011. A new office of PwC's Centre for Technology and Innovation (CTI) has opened at Digital October in Moscow. The CTI will be a meeting place and intellectual centre for start-ups, venture investors and organisations involved in innovation development. With the opening of this office, we will expand our consulting outreach for technology start-ups, reported the press-centre of PwC.

The event’s atmosphere was informal and friendly. Guests were offered "start-up" cocktails in test tubes, as well as gourmet “molecular” cuisine. They were given a chance to view i-cinema, which embodies the spirit of innovation in contemporary cinematography.

The event featured such speakers as David Gray, Managing Parter of PwC Russia; Igor Agamirzyan, General Director of Russian Venture Company; and Ekaterina Shapochka, Director of Marketing, Communications and Business Development at PwC Russia. Also speaking at the event were Laurent Probst, Partner with PwC Luxembourg and Bo Parker, Managing Director of the CTI in San Jose (California, USA) and a well-known innovation and technology guru, who was in Moscow for the first time.

Dmitry Repin, Director of Digital October, noted that the majority of guests at the CTI opening were already well-acquainted partners and friends even before the event. Among the guests were representatives of venture funds, development institutes and technology start-ups, as well as Russian and international organisations involved in innovation development. In the words of Dmitry Repin, PwC's new initiative is a good addition to the ecosystem of technology entrepreneurship.

One of the greatest advantages of opening a new CTI office in Moscow will not only be the highly professional local team but also PwC's international connections. Laurent Probst discussed how work with start-ups will be structured in the international PwC network. He also shared his thoughts on creating a successful innovation ecosystem.

Ekaterina Shapochka presented on the opening of the PwC CTI Accelerator, the aim of which is to create a platform for work with high-tech innovation companies. The PwC CTI Accelerator will become a link between companies, investors, government and others and will give start-ups access to international markets and expertise through PwC's experience and international connections.  Shapochka commented that "our mission is to be close at hand for growing companies and to be their trusted advisers from the very beginning." As part of the CTI Accelerator, PwC will hold seminars, training programmes and conduct research, as well as support start-ups in all areas of development - from devising a strategy and attracting financing, to advising on tax and legal issues, creating a financially transparent business and entering the international market.

“We are sure that currently, our country has a unique opportunity- to transform Russia into a global technological leader. And we, PwC, want to be an integral part of this process. We also want to retain our position as the consulting firm No1 for future generations of business leaders”, - added Natalya Milchakova, PwC partner.

The real star of the evening was Bo Parker, who shared his thoughts on the new digital economy and on how economic and technological trends are changing business and markets. Bo Parker is one of the leading experts on the Silicon Valley ecosystem and the IT market in general. He serves as Editor in Chief of Technology Forecast, a quarterly PwC publication, and consults large private and state organisations on IT market development issues. Earlier in the day, Bo presented at Digital October on "Technology Trends". The lecture was part of Digital October's Knowledge Stream project. One of the key ideas in that presentation was that start-ups will develop where their clients are, and so Russia must stimulate demand for innovation in order to create a market for start-ups. After solving modernisation issues in the Russian market, these start-ups will be well placed to compete on international markets.

The event concluded with a performance of "New Technologies" by the solo trumpeter Maksim Pustovita. And even though not everyone was brave enough to try the start-up cocktail, very few could resist the urge to dance when they heard Maksim's energetic melodies.