October – Club evening with Sergei Ryabukhin and Agata Sidorovich
If you listen to the widespread assessments of the Belarusian economy, you quickly come across the opinion that it is not easy to do private business in Belarus, why private business is allegedly underdeveloped in Belarus compared to the neighbouring and similar countries. At the October club evening we had an opportunity to meet two guests of our Club who - in absolutely different ways - proved, or are trying to prove, the opposite.
The evening was opened by Sergey Ryabukhin, Partner and Deputy General Director of Zubr Capital Private Equity Fund, the first and as of today the most famous structure of that kind in Belarus. The financial expert's report was captivating, informative and honest. He touched upon the period when the Fund was established, when it spun off from the Atlant-M Holding, the first years of its formation, and shared very interesting considerations of cooperation with his colleagues from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the National Bank of Belarus. From the presentation we learned about the current situation of Zubr Capital, its recent achievements and plans for the future. Our guest also shared his view on the general situation in the country for the work of such funds. In the end, he presented the charity and social projects in which the fund participates. Special mention should be made of the planned publication of the "Entrepreneur's Guide" for Belarusian start-ups, which aims at transferring the accumulated experience of the foundation's management to young entrepreneurs.
The bison was followed by a squirrel. The director of the kindergarten of the same name, Agata Sidorovich, presented her project - the first German kindergarten in Minsk "Eichhörnchen" (translated from German as "Squirrel"). The kindergarten started its work on September 1 this year. It is opened not only for the Germans, but also for the Belarusians and representatives of other nationalities that are interested in raising their children in German. The day care centre's routine is entirely in German and thus for expats it is a German-speaking alternative to QSI in pre-school education.
Both presentations prompted questions to the speakers and interested discussions among the Club members, which the evening participants were able to continue in the traditional buffet.
The evening was opened by Sergey Ryabukhin, Partner and Deputy General Director of Zubr Capital Private Equity Fund, the first and as of today the most famous structure of that kind in Belarus. The financial expert's report was captivating, informative and honest. He touched upon the period when the Fund was established, when it spun off from the Atlant-M Holding, the first years of its formation, and shared very interesting considerations of cooperation with his colleagues from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the National Bank of Belarus. From the presentation we learned about the current situation of Zubr Capital, its recent achievements and plans for the future. Our guest also shared his view on the general situation in the country for the work of such funds. In the end, he presented the charity and social projects in which the fund participates. Special mention should be made of the planned publication of the "Entrepreneur's Guide" for Belarusian start-ups, which aims at transferring the accumulated experience of the foundation's management to young entrepreneurs.
The bison was followed by a squirrel. The director of the kindergarten of the same name, Agata Sidorovich, presented her project - the first German kindergarten in Minsk "Eichhörnchen" (translated from German as "Squirrel"). The kindergarten started its work on September 1 this year. It is opened not only for the Germans, but also for the Belarusians and representatives of other nationalities that are interested in raising their children in German. The day care centre's routine is entirely in German and thus for expats it is a German-speaking alternative to QSI in pre-school education.
Both presentations prompted questions to the speakers and interested discussions among the Club members, which the evening participants were able to continue in the traditional buffet.