The Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg University and Sberbank have shared the results of their research using the GEM methodology in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region.

According to the survey, every fifth respondent believes that a favorable environment has been created in the region for starting a business. 35% of the respondents respect entrepreneurs, and 13% believe that business in the region contributes to solving social problems.

Almost half of the respondents (42.9%) consider their qualifications and experience sufficient to start an entrepreneurial career. This is higher than the average for Russia (36%). Men are more confident in their abilities — 47.7% rated their knowledge and skills as adequate for starting their own business. Among women, this figure is only 36.2%.

Victor Ventimilla Alonso, Chairman of the North-West Bank of PJSC Sberbank:

“If earlier we talked about entrepreneurs, meaning only individual entrepreneurs and LLCs, now this category also includes self-employed, whose number has recently grown significantly. And we see how the number of green businesses is multiplying — this is a trend of our time. It is indicative that among newbie businessmen there are more "romantics" — 27.1% of them do business for the sake of "changing the world for the better." Among experienced entrepreneurs, this motive is driven by only 17.1% ”.

The main entrepreneurial motive is earning money. About half of the respondents associated being in business with the possibility of generating significant income. Business as a continuation of the family tradition was stated by 13% of respondents.

Olga Verkhovskaya, Head of the GEM project in Russia, Associate Professor of the Department of Strategic and International Management at GSOM SPbU:

“9% of respondents announced their exit from business in connection with the crisis. But 58% of those who closed a business, plan to start a new one in the next three years. We can say that this is a new trend, since earlier,  most of the respondents leaving the business sector were not ready to try again. In 2018 and 2019, 70% of those who closed their business did not plan to return to entrepreneurial activity in the next 3 years."

The data were obtained on the basis of the results of the study "Entrepreneurial Activity of the Population of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region 2020/21", which was conducted as part of the "Global Entrepreneurship Monitor" (GEM). The project is being implemented in Russia by a research group of the Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg University with the support of Sberbank.