In the syndicate of investors there were two accredited participants amongst the Skolkovo Fund venture investors: Luxemburg fund Mangrove Capital Partners (the deal was completed under the leadership of member of the Fund Venture Board David Varoker) and accredited investor VTB Capital.
Amongst other members of the pool of investors : fund Ventech and Victor Sazhin Group. Oktogo ( the name should be understood as Ok-to-go), is a new resident of the Fund, in March the company passed the clearance stage and expert board approval. It must be noted that this is already the second major deal with residents of the IT cluster working in the niche of online travel booking, considering the recent $25 mil. investments into "Ostrovok". Igor Bogachev, the Acting CEO of the cluster, commented on this trend:
The interest of investors in the niche of online sales and bookings of vacation packages proves the mature stage of this market segment. The fast-paced rise of the number of users with positive experience in purchasing through the internet is continuing- as a result of improved quality and increase in mobile accessibility. That means the net financial worth of the segment is also increasing. Oktogo, in my view, has managed to formulate a well understood advantage of the project to the consumers in this competitive landscape, besides that, the team is solid and self-sufficient, which is important for investors- they are experienced programmers, and management with experience in successful startup launches along with a good understanding of the global market. Oktogo- to me is the first known internet service for travelers, that simultaneously combines such large number of hotel options, and payment options not only with credit cards, but cash as well, which is in demand in the CIS market.Igor Bogachev
Company CEO Marina Kolesnik thinks the interest of the investors, including foreign investors, is based on the fact that the market segment of online booking in Russia is growing at a fast pace and will continue to grow in the near future since the country will provide numerous large-scale international events, including Kazan Universiade, Olympic games, and football World Cup.
Online booking is valued at an estimated 20 billion dollar industry annually. At the same time, online bookings are only 10% of the market share, and we are making a projection that the market of online booking will grow at a fast pace and local players which customize their products and service for the local clients may win the mass market clients. Russians are moving fast from offline to online, learning how to place bookings on the internet, teach themselves how to work online in small hotels, and it is our goal to teach the people to organize their travels onlineMarina Kolesnik
Kolesnik also noted that the company, which according to international ratings, is in the Top-50 Russian innovation companies, as well as Top-10 Russian internet startups, increased its image even more through the Fund’s support. Fund Skolkovo valued us on the level of NIOKR Company by giving us a residency status. Our foreign investors already valued our commercial potential and for them it was a reconfirmation, that aside from our commercial value, our technological and innovative capabilities were positively acknowledged."
Commenting on the R&D side of the OKTOGO business, Igor Bogachev said that the company uses mathematical models for analyses and estimation of consumer demand. "That is one of the key technological trends in the global economy. The market of online booking and sales is already utilizing modern technology for interaction with clients, analyses of consumer demands, price forecasts, and creation of commercial proposals in real time that meet the demands of the specific client. Since Russia is well supplied with mathematicians and programmers, in this segment our startups have a great chance at success on the global market", said the information technology cluster Acting CEO of the "Skolkovo" Fund.