Russian tech firms can easily rival global giants – Yota CEO

Technology companies and mobile operators in Russia are strong rivals to most foreign firms, both domestically and internationally, and are perfectly prepared for any kind of crisis, Mikhail Dubinin, Yota CEO told RT.

“Russia has always been renowned for its minds, domestic programmers are among the world’s strongest,” Dubinin wrote to RT in an e-mail, wrapping up Russian Marketing week held in Moscow last week.

“Given the appropriate support, our technological companies can rival western players not only in the domestic market but also in the international ones,” Dubinin added.

He added that the government’s import substitution plan helped established Russian firms expand their pool of domestic consumers, which could be the first step to international expansion.

A couple of years ago Russia established an Internet Initiatives Development Fund where young teams can receive educational training as well as funding.

Dubinin also was confident that his company was absolutely crises-resilient, as Russia’s mobile market is extremely competitive.

“Mobile connection penetration in our country exceeded 160 percent long ago, which means each person in this country has more than 2 SIM – cards. And to occupy its niche in such an environment we had to make sure well beforehand that we are as efficient as other companies,” Dubinin added.