Many of Russia's fastest growing companies, from supermarkets to rail freight operators, have been set up in the past decade. But despite this, finding the capital to grow remains a challenge. Russia's initial public offering (IPO) pipeline has run dry and credit is far harder to come by than it was before the 2008 financial crisis. This creates a challenge for Russia's entrepreneurs to raise finance to fund the expansion of the private sector and wean the Russian economy off its unhealthy dependence on oil, gas and other commodities.
From private equity funds with hundreds of millions of dollars to spend to microfinance organisations, funding Russians entrepreneurs in the country's vibrant consumer sector is an increasingly big business, and is becoming far more profitable for banks and private equity organisations than dealing with the behemoths of Russia's state sector.
