Business Programme architecture for the Russian SME Forum at SPIEF 2026 published

On 3 June, the opening day of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the 11th Russian Forum of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises will take place. This year’s central theme is the creative code of the economy as a new growth formula for SMEs. The Forum is organized by the Roscongress Foundation together with OPORA RUSSIA.

“Small and medium-sized business remains one of the key drivers of sustainable economic development and increased business activity in the regions of Russia. Today it is important to ensure conditions for the further growth of the SME sector, to expand opportunities for entrepreneurs, to introduce modern technological and managerial solutions, and to develop new areas, including the creative industries. The Russian SME Forum at the SPIEF venue traditionally brings together representatives of government, business and development institutions to discuss practical mechanisms for supporting entrepreneurship and to work out solutions aimed at achieving the country’s national development goals,” noted Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak.

The Forum’s business programme is divided into five thematic blocks: “SMEs and the State”, “Accelerating SMEs”, “Industries and Digitalization”, “Workforce” and “Foreign Economic Activities”. The key event of the day will be the plenary session entitled “Creative Code of Economic Development: A New Formula for SME Growth”, which will be held with the participation of Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak. In addition to the sessions, the business programme also includes master classes, a financial dialogue, research presentations, and more. The Forum’s programme is practice-oriented: participants will be able to gain up-to-date knowledge, strengthen their professional skills in key areas of business, find new partners and discover new markets.

“Over the years, the Russian SME Forum has become an important platform for open dialogue between the state, business, and development institutions. This year, particular attention will be paid to the creative economy as one of the drivers of growth for small and medium-sized entrepreneurship. Today it is precisely the creative industries, digital solutions, new formats of cooperation, and export initiatives that are shaping the modern face of entrepreneurship. They are creating additional opportunities for the sustainable development of the regions and the country’s economy as a whole,” emphasized Anton Kobyakov, Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation and Executive Secretary of the SPIEF Organising Committee.

The “SMEs and the State” block is dedicated to synchronising the efforts of the state and business in achieving national goals: from demographics and active longevity to growth in economic activity. The focus will be on building partnerships between large and small business for regional development, on cooperation between municipal authorities and business, and on updating data and classifiers as the foundation for managerial decisions. A separate emphasis is placed on the philosophy of Russian entrepreneurship: the principles and guiding values that define business culture.

“OPORA RUSSIA, together with the Roscongress Foundation, is holding the Russian SME Forum for the 11th time, and it traditionally opens the country’s leading economic event: SPIEF. The Russian economy is currently undergoing structural transformation, and approaches to the development of small and medium-sized business are changing along with it. The SME sector continues to be one of the drivers of economic development, so the priority emphases of the Forum’s business programme will be on effective business strategies, raising labour productivity, interaction between the business community and the state, tools for SME acceleration, the development of foreign economic ties, and much more. SME Forum participants will gain new, useful experience, knowledge, competencies and contacts that they will be able to integrate into the business processes of their enterprises and teams,” noted Alexander Kalinin, President of OPORA RUSSIA.

The “Accelerating SMEs” track is focused on tools for accelerated growth: from systematizing support measures and assessing their effectiveness to expanding access to finance and markets. Participants will discuss practices for commercializing innovation, entering exchange-based and other market instruments, financial solutions for scaling, as well as applied diagnostics of business models and the updating of strategies for running a business in current conditions. The aim is to translate entrepreneurial ideas into measurable results through a set of working mechanisms.

The “Industries and Digitalization” block examines the digital transformation of industries as a source of SME competitiveness. The agenda includes the balance of opportunities and costs of ‘going digital’, the accessibility of AI for small business, the narrowing of the digital divide, and the development of industrial SMEs through cooperation, exports and investment projects. Particular attention will be paid to moving from strategy to results through applied management tools.

The “Workforce” track is dedicated to the human capital of SMEs: raising productivity, training entrepreneurial talent and modern management practices. The panel sessions will examine approaches to attracting and onboarding highly qualified specialists, including from abroad, as well as the development of a support ecosystem involving regulators. The emphasis is on measurable methods for raising labour efficiency and on tools for building competencies.

The “Foreign Economic Activities” block focuses on the foreign economic opportunities available to SMEs in the context of a changing geo-economy. It will address new areas of technological interaction and partnership in the markets of the Middle East and Asia, legal and operational solutions for ‘clean’ imports, and the competitive environment and resilience in cross-border online trade. A separate focus is on modern communication practices for promotion and approaches to reducing external risks when entering friendly markets.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2026 will run from 3 to 6 June.