Net Element to Invest in Mobile Payments Technologies

Net Element International

, a technology-driven group specializing in electronic commerce and mobile payment processing is pleased to announce today that they have entered into an investor accreditation agreement to develop new technology with The Skolkovo Foundation, a government funded research and development center in Moscow. This multi-year and multimillion dollar investment allocation by Net Element provides exclusive access to early stage mobile payments and transactional services technology. Pursuant to the agreement, Net Element will set aside up to $12 million (370 mln Rub) over the next three years with Skolkovo for investment in companies and technologies that meet NETE's investment criteria and strategic initiatives. The role of The Skolkovo Foundation is to oversee the creation of the Skolkovo Innovation Center comprising five R&D clusters (IT, Space, Biomed, Energy Efficiency and Nuclear Technology), Technopark, the Skolkovo Institute of Technology (a new graduate research university established in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Skolkovo City. Net Element's interests are specifically focused on mobile payments and transactional services technology projects. “The decision to direct investments to mobile commerce development was not made by coincidence, as Net Element provides financial solutions in the mobile technologies field as well. And, of course, as a market insider we are interested in further development of the industry,” said Net Element Development Director and TOT Group Russia CEO Konstantin Zaripov. The agreement with “Skolkovo” is not Net Element's first experience investing in innovative projects. Net Element International Chairman Kenges Rakishev is a founder of Genesis Angels, a venture capital fund targeting investments in start-ups that focus in robotics and artificial intelligence. The Chairman of the fund, which has a current budget of more than $100 million, is the ex-prime minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert. Located in Israel, the fund supports research and development of innovative technologies all over the world. “We are committed to developing technologies in Russia for use in the region and globally,” said Oleg Firer, Net Element CEO. “In particular, we see a clear nexus between the goals of Skolkovo and our company's need to have additional R&D capabilities so that we may accelerate the incubation of new products and develop breakthrough platforms to feed our pipeline of innovation.” Net Element is making this announcement within days of stating their intent to acquire Aptito, a next generation, cloud-based point of sale platform for restaurants. The Aptito press release is available by clicking here. Net Element's agreement with Skolkovo puts them in good company as just two years ago IBM – the world leader in the number of registered patents in the U.S. – joined with Skolkovo to drive innovation in Russia and beyond. Skolkovo's other noteworthy corporate partnerships include Cisco, Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Nokia Siemens Networks, SAP and Siemens.