36 social entrepreneurs from Sarov will compete for grants of up to 250,000 rubles under the "Path to Success" program.

      October 27, 2025, 16:42 — Economy

      36 social entrepreneurs from Sarov will compete for grants of up to 250,000 rubles under the "Path to Success" program

      36 residents of Sarov became participants in the "Path to Success" program for the development of social entrepreneurship.

      The program is organized by the Association of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Sarov, established with the support of the Russian Federal Nuclear Center (part of the state corporation Rosatom), and the City Entrepreneurship Support Center jointly with the Ministry of Social Policy of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, the Regional Center for Social Sphere Innovations (CISS) and the Sarov administration.

      "The 'Path to Success' program is an important tool for supporting social entrepreneurship in our region. It helps social businesses implement their projects more effectively, creating new jobs and improving citizens' quality of life. Such systematic support contributes to strengthening the region's social economy, stimulates entrepreneurial initiative and helps address pressing social issues locally," said Igor Sedykh, Minister of Social Policy of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

      The program consists of two key components — an educational accelerator and a grant competition with subsequent support for the best social projects in Sarov. Not only individual entrepreneurs and city organizations can participate, but also self-employed citizens and private individuals who are only planning to start their own business.

      "The program was implemented for the first time in 2019, and since then the Association of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Sarov has already supported 30 projects totaling more than four million rubles. We can now see the results of their activities. The winning projects from past years continue to develop and expand. Interest in the program remains high. Each year the number of applicants and new idea-driven projects grows. In 2025, the maximum size of an individual grant for creating a new or developing an existing social business project has been increased to 250,000 rubles, which will allow us to expand support for social initiatives and increase their sustainability," said Tatyana Belina, Executive Director of the Association of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Sarov.

      The program’s kick-off conference took place on October 16 at the Sarov City Entrepreneurship Support Center, where participants were introduced to the main stages of the program, the educational course and the state support measures for social enterprises.

      "We have developed an educational program that places special emphasis on the practical application of knowledge and the development of participants' competencies — from idea generation to the final defense of projects. The program includes marketing simulations, master classes, workshops on artificial intelligence and pitch sessions. The course concludes with project defenses and the selection of winners, which motivates participants to achieve concrete results. We have combined lecture and practical approaches, which is especially important for entrepreneurs with different levels of preparation. An important feature is the support of mentors — experienced entrepreneurs from our city who accompany participants at all stages," said Evgenia Kalacheva, Director of the Sarov Entrepreneurship Support Center.

      Classes are conducted in-person and online, allowing for the widest possible reach of interested participants. At the defense, the social necessity will be evaluated — the justification of the project's relevance and social significance, the social impact, as well as economic efficiency and the quality of the presentation. All indicators must be realistic and achievable for an objective assessment. The authors of the best projects will be awarded grants of up to 250,000 rubles.

      "Traditionally, at the end of the year at our final event dedicated to summarizing the development of social entrepreneurship in the region, we will award the program winners. I would particularly like to emphasize the growing activity of entrepreneurs: each year the number of participants increases, and new ideas for regional development appear. This year there are especially many newcomers among the participants," emphasized Svetlana Kashina, Director of the Regional Center for Social Sphere Innovations of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

      Since the program began, more than 160 beginning and existing entrepreneurs have completed the training. More than 90 projects were submitted to the competition commission, of which 30 received support.

      Supporting entrepreneurship, including socially oriented entrepreneurship, is a primary objective of the federal project "Small and Medium Entrepreneurship" of the national project "Efficient and Competitive Economy," which is being implemented at the initiative of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. The activities of the regional Center for Social Sphere Innovations, established in 2017, contribute to achieving this objective.

      More about the "Path to Success" program can be found on the CISS52.RF website in the "Support" section.

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