The Definite Minsk Startup City Guide

The city counts 1.974,8 million inhabitants and is located on the main transportation routes connecting Western Europe and the East, the Russian Federation, the regions of the Black Sea Coast and the Scandinavian and Baltic States.

Minsk is a nice and wonderful place to work and live. Combining all the advantages of living in cities it is calm, convenient, and safe. The city has a very good public transportation system – you can easily reach any place as – like most big European cities – it has a fine metro system.

GPS Direction: Minsk

Advantages Of Building A Startup In Minsk:

• A variety of universities and technical schools, advanced technical education, a large number of IT and Hi-Tech specialists, innovative and highly qualified managers for future growth.
• Special conditions for IT and Hi-Tech business (income tax of 9% for employees an only 1% for businesses).
• Good conditions for blockchain startups, tax incentives for operations with tokens and cryptocurrencies.
• Startup visa for IT and Hi-Tech business and startup enthusiasts.
• Simplified receipt of a residence permit in the Republic of Belarus for IT and Hi-Tech business and startup enthusiasts as well as for foreign employees of IT and Hi-Tech companies.
• Relatively low cost of living in the city, including rental housing and other expenses.
• A large number of cultural and entertainment facilities including theaters, museums, water parks, a large number of various cafes and restaurants.
• Airplane, railway, and bus connection with European capitals and the major cities of the Russian Federation.
• The city is not too large, it is a clean and safe place for living.
• Nationals of the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and some other states do not need visas and permits for business and work in Belarus and Minsk.
• Wonderful nature, lots of recreation opportunities, modern ski resorts only 30 km from Minsk and all of this on the flat and plain territory of Eastern Europe 🙂

What Founders Have To Consider In Minsk:

• Belarus currently is not part of the European Union, at the same time the country has no customs with the Russian Federation or Kazakhstan.
• No direct flights to New-York, Toronto, and Beijing, but connections through Warsaw and Moscow may be used.

First Stop: Discover Minsk’s Startup Community

A large number of coworking spaces, meetups, IT spaces as well as interest from national, European, and Russian venture funds additional to interest from investors and business angels make Minsk a vibrant community – great to start your business in. Let’s dive into the community:

General Info:

• Minsk is the administrative center for the Belarus Hi-Tech Park which is leading among innovative IT clusters in Central and Eastern Europe today and uniting more than 200 IT companies, being a birthplace of companies like Epam, Itransition, Wargaming, Viber, and others.
• Dev.by covers news, events, community. You may contact them in English if you’re looking for specific news as the website is in Russian.
• Imaguru hosts events, meetups, hackathons, and is a space where a fun environment and an active community generate new ideas and innovation.
• Suit.by hosts events, speeches, hackathons and regular startup contests.
• MSQRD &  Juno recently started in Minsk!

Regular & Upcoming Events & Meetups:

• Garage48 hosts various events and meetups in Minsk.
• Imaguru specializes in  IT events, hackathons, speeches, and meetups.
• Suit.by holds events, speeches, hackathons and regular startup contests including the Minsk Startup Weekend.

Volunteering Possibilities:

• Please contact Imaguru, Eventspace.by, or Dev.by (in English) to find out more about volunteering possibilities.

Second Stop: Park At A Coworking Space In Minsk

Minsk has many coworking spaces to choose from. Let’s get straight into it:

• Hi-Tech Park: Convenient and amazing place but a car to get there will not hurt you.
• Imaguru: A Convenient place for IT specialists and startup enthusiasts. You can work either in the common room at any free place or in a separate room. The office is located in the city center, near the metro station, there is bicycle parking as well as ramps for people with disabilities. The price includes an equipped kitchen, unlimited Internet, recreation and work areas. Payment is done by the hour, however, there are also monthly subscriptions.
• Eventspace.by: Space is an amazing and convenient place for IT specialists and small teams. It is located in the center of Minsk not too far from a metro station. It supports early-stage startups and projects of independent technology communities and enthusiasts. Young specialists are provided with free premises and all necessary support. On a paid basis, you can always take a workplace (payment by the hour). The price includes coffee, cookies and a quiet place.
• John Galt: John Galt is located in the city center and close to two metro stations. It offers coworking spaces can host 100 people in total. You can count on free coffee, tea, Wi-Fi, cookies, a meeting room, a game zone, the use of a projector and a flipchart. It is possible to rent the space for one hour, 10, 20 and 30 days.
• KB16: In December 2016 in the Scientific Library of the Belarusian National Technical University opened the free coworking space KB-16. There are armchairs, tables, a large number of workplaces, free WI-FI, audio and video equipment, table games. To enter the space you need a reader card of the University’s Library or €0.50.
• Cech: Cech offers two premises for rent: 200 m2 and 1700 m2. The first is provided for holding small meetings, master classes, lectures and operates like a coworking space. The big hall hosts festivals, exhibitions, fashion shows, theatrical performances and more.
• Fisher’s House: Fisher’s House is an unusual coworking space, where young people often hang out. There is always something interesting happening, but for a working person, there is also a cozy corner where you can go into the project with a clear head. You’ll be provided with rooms, Wi-Fi, tea, coffee and cookies, a kitchen with a microwave and a stove, as well as a common room with board games and books.

Third Stop: Tank Your Finances In Minsk

Incubators & Accelerators:

• Hi-Tech Park Incubator
• Imaguru Incubator

Crowd Investing Platforms:

• Talaka: The Belarusian crowdsourcing and crowd investing platform, where the startup enthusiasts post their ideas to find investments and a team of like-minded people. The platform is mainly aimed at non-profit, cultural and educational projects. The head and team of each project are completely independent and bear full responsibility for their project. Anyone who adheres to the rules of the platform can become the author of the project.
• Ulej.by: A global investment vehicle focused on the technology sector. Once registered, any resident can create a project and raise funds for any commercial, educational, social or charitable project that can benefit and interest others.
• Any other local or global crowd investing platform you like 🙂

Venture Capital Investors:

• VpCapital: A global investment vehicle focused on the technology sector. It’s good advice to visit any of their events to meet investors and business angels from the US, Canada, the EU or the Russian Federation – many of them have ties to acceleration programs in the US, EU, or Singapore.

Other Investment Opportunities:

• SocialWeekend: The biggest contest of social, non-profit projects to change the world, where everyone can offer an idea, win a grant for its realization or simply find people with the same views.

Fourth Stop: Seek Further Advice & Opportunities In Minsk

For further advice, you may contact

• Hi-Tech Park’s administration or
• see their FAQs for more common questions.
• You can also check out some general facts to better understand the IT and startup environment in Belarus.
• And, in case you’re looking for already established IT businesses in Minsk, you can take a look here.

Please make sure to check out Imaguru, Suit.by, and Dev.by for news on upcoming events, meetups, hackathons, or speeches you’re interested in.

You don’t need a visa to have a short time voyage to Minsk to visit the city and it’s events, please see the official site for more information. Minsk is a safe city, you may walk around at night in any area of the city even the ones which are remote from the center – you’ll be surprised!

Ready to build your startup?

 

 

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