Our Future Foundation and SIBUR jointly launch a new Growth Formula program

1 march 2021

Eight cities, Tobolsk, Dzerzhinsk, Nizhnevartovsk, Nyagan, Pyt-Yakh, Noyabrsk, Gubkinsky, Muravlenko, will be home to a one-of-a-kind business acceleration program for entrepreneurs aptly named the Growth Formula. This campaign that will be taking place on March 27 through July 7 was made possible through a partnership between Our Future, a Regional Social Programs Foundation, and the Formula for Good Deeds, SIBUR’s social investment program.

The accelerator program specifically targets operating social entrepreneurs. It is open to managers of companies focusing on improving standards of living, on urban development, and on creating new jobs for socially disadvantaged groups in such sectors as education, healthcare, social services, culture, sports, tourism, ecology, event management, etc., as well as to non-profits involved in commercial activities.

The program's goal is to assist social entrepreneurs in growing their businesses quickly and effectively, and in multiplying the social value of their operations.

Applications to participate in the new acceleration program for social entrepreneurs will be accepted through March 19.

Participants of the acceleration program will be offered to take part in three full-time intensive training sessions in Nizhnevartovsk, Noyabrsk, and Tobolsk delivered by national-level experts lasting two to three days each.

In addition, the Growth Formula program will include online sessions on the most in-demand topics: marketing and promotion, client relations, business process optimization, finances, and teamwork. And, most importantly, it will include three months of one-on-one work with experts to try and find points of business growth.

Participation is free, but the class will be chosen on a contest basis that will include two stages: completion of registration forms and individual interviews with experts. The finalized list of participants will be published on March 20.

For additional information about the program and to apply, please visit http://formularosta-sp.ru/sibur

It is worth mentioning that the Growth Formula was successfully implemented in 2018 in Kaliningrad. In 2019, the acceleration program was held in Nizhny Novgorod, and in 2020 it was hosted by Astrakhan and Yugra.

Background information about Our Future Foundation

Our Future, a Regional Social Programs Foundation (http://nb-fund.ru/), is the first organization in Russia that got involved in developing social entrepreneurship. The Foundation was established in 2007 at the initiative of Vagit Alekperov, a prominent businessman, and over the years it has evolved into one of a few organizations in the world that strive to provide comprehensive support to socially conscious businesses ranging from financial assistance to consulting.

In the course of the Social Entrepreneur Contest of Projects (http://konkurs.nb-fund.ru/) the Foundation supported 255 projects from 58 regions for a total of RUB 693.2 mln. Funding is provided in the form of interest-free earmarked loans.

In 2013, in a drive to assist social businesses in reaching a wider market, the Foundation, jointly with LUKOIL, launched a project titled More Than Just a Purchase" (http://nepokupka.ru/). Since that time, products manufactured by social entrepreneurs have been on offer at filling stations’ mini marts.

Since 2014, the Foundation has been running a Social Entrepreneurship Lab (http://lab-sp.ru/) offering webinars and specialized courses. The Lab’s instructors include prominent Russian experts in the field of social entrepreneurship.

The Foundation instituted the Impulse of Kindness Award (http://impulsdobra.ru/) for contribution to the development and promotion of social entrepreneurship that it has been awarding to Russia’s social entrepreneurs, representatives of non-profit organizations, heads of government agencies and relevant sectoral institutions, journalists, media outlets, and higher education institutions.

In addition, the Foundation has been producing its own original and translated publications while also maintaining its information and analysis portal called New Business: Social Entrepreneurship (http://nb-forum.ru/), developing education programs and lawmaking initiatives in the area of social entrepreneurship, and hosting various kinds of fora and meets.