Moscow Gov’t to Launch Blockchain-Enabled IT Innovation Cluster by Summer 2019

The Moscow municipal government is planning to launch a blockchain-based city innovation cluster by summer 2019, Russian news agency TASS reports on Feb. 11.

The upcoming platform for the city’s IT innovation cluster will enable participants to find potential partners, as well as learn about their products and equipment, according to Alexey Fursin, Head of the Department of Business and Innovation of Moscow.

Fursin noted that the platform’s entrants will be also be able to receive financial support through grants from the Moscow government.

According to the official, the upcoming platform is based on the state-supported city navigation hub dubbed iMoscow, and is currently in its final stages of development.

The Innovation Cluster Draft Bill was recently approved by members of the presidium of the Moscow Government, and is expected to be introduced at the Moscow City Duma in the near future, as iMoscow reported on Feb. 7.

The innovation cluster of Moscow intends to bring together various tech and business entities, including technology parks, business incubators, IT firms, universities, research and development (R&D) organizations, and others.

According to TASS, the Department of Business and Innovation of Moscow was formed as part of the reorganization the Moscow Department of Science, Industrial Policy, and Business in September 2018.

Recently, the Russian Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Education and Science announced it will deploy blockchain technology in in the country’s main graduation examination, the Unified State Exam (USE).

Last month, Russia’s Ministry of Education and Science introduced a blockchain-enabled platform for tracking natural diamonds in order to guarantee the authenticity of diamond products across the supply chain.