OREANDA-NEWS. April 25, 2013. The results of the Citi Foundation’s Russian Microentrepreneurship Award competition have been announced. The aim of the award is to reward microentrepreneurs who truly excel in their businesses and the most effective organizations engaged in microfinancing.

This year the prize fund was increased by more than one and a half time and amounted to 1.3 million rubles. In total 116 microentrepreneurs were nominated for 11 award categories and 53 microfinance organizations were nominated in 2 categories. The awards ceremony was held at the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry with representatives of key state regulatory bodies and the business community participating.

The top prize is a monetary award for business development in the amount of 140,000 rubles. The winners of the individual nomination categories also receive monetary prizes.

“The competition, which has been held in Russia since 2005, rewards outstanding entrepreneurs and the most effective microfinance organizations which support businesses. It is part of a global program to reward success in small business that is carried out by Citi in 30 countries worldwide. During the 8 years that this competition has been held in Russia, more than 1000 nominees who created socially significant businesses have taken part,” said Nataly Nikolaeva, Vice President, Head of Government Affairs, Citi Russia.

The decisions on the award recipients were made by a vote of the independent jury, which this year consisted of 20 experts involved in entrepreneurship development.

“Citi’s competition is an important event for the development of microbusiness in Russia,” noted Mikhail Mamuta, President of the Russian Microfinance Center and the National Partnership of Microfinance Market Stakeholders and Chairman of the Board of the “Microfinance and Development” Nonprofit Partnership. “We are very pleased that in 2012 the number of submissions from microfinance organizations and credit coops was the highest ever in the eight-year history of the competition. This indicates stronger ties between microfinance institutions and business and well as the higher demand for these services on the part of entrepreneurs. According to a study by the National Agency for Financial Studies, 11% of the entrepreneurs surveyed had made use of microloans.

As previously, the organizers of the 2012 competition were the National Partnership of Microfinance Market Stakeholders (NAMMS) and the Russian Microfinance Center with support from the Citi Foundation.

The competition was supported by the Russian Ministry of Finance, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Russian Organization for Small and Medium Entrepreneurship OPORA RUSSIA and the Our Future Fund of Regional Social Programs.
 
Winners
Best Entrepreneur 2012 – Agafia Markova from the village of Betyun, Sakha Republic (Yakutia). The main focus of Agafia Markova’s business is animal husbandry. She is also engaged in rearing domestic fowl, making national costumes and winter footwear, as well as horticulture. She has a 90-head herd of cattle, produces meat and dairy products, grows vegetables, and markets these products in the neighboring villages. Her farm does not use chemical fertilizer for cultivating vegetables. She is receiving great support from her 6 adopted and 6 own children, 38 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren helping to run her enterprise.

Best Entrepreneurs in the Services Industry 2012 – Gennady Egorov, Altai Republic, who’s family-run business is developing ecological and agro-tourism.

Best Entrepreneur in Agriculture 2012 – Vladimir Vybornov, who is successfully developing a 200-hectare farm in the village of Kommunar in the Volgograd region.

Best Entrepreneur in Commerce 2012 – Tatiana Kharitonova from the town of Shimsk in the Novgorod region, who owns a store and cafй.

Best Entrepreneur in Manufacturing 2012 – Svetlana Zhukova of the Kirov region (Vyatskiye Polyany). Svetlana established the company Sotka Zeleni, which produces plant and animal-product fertilizers and mixtures.

Best Entrepreneur in Transport 2012 – Sergei Fomichev of the Khabarovsk region (Tuluchi). Sergei is engaged in several businesses: the transport of passengers and luggage via taxi, car leasing and a dispatcher service.

Best Entrepreneur in Construction 2012 – Maxim Bykov of Krasnoyarsk. His engineering and construction company is engaged in the design and installation of quick-assembly, contemporary, energy-efficient buildings.

Leader in Microfinance Innovation 2012 – three winners: the credit coop Pervy Dalnevostochny (First Far Eastern – Khabarovsk), the microfinance organization FINKA (Samara) and the noncommercial organization Lipetsk Regional Fund for Support of Small and Medium-Sized Business (Lipetsk).

In addition, prizes were awarded in the nomination categories Best Credit Expert 2012, Women’s Initiative in Entrepreneurship, Successful Startup, Social Significant Business, Best Environmental Initiative and Environmental Project, and Best Innovative Startup.

Detailed information on the winners’ success stories can be found in the informational brochure (in Russian) on the website of the Russian Microfinance Center: www.rmcenter.ru.