State Support of Scientific and Technical Developments for Creating Innovative Business in the Republic of Mari El

Introduction. In the face of geopolitical challenges, the strategic objectives are to ensure technological sovereignty and create import-substituting machines. A significant
contribution to the solution of these tasks is made by innovation development institutions, including the Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises in Science and Technology (FASIE) in the Republic of Mari El. The purpose of the study is to demonstrate the positive effects of state support provided to innovation-oriented youth works and small innovative businesses of the Republic of Mari El in their production and economic achievements. Results. The FASIE grant programs, such as "UMNIK", "Student Startup", "Start", "Development" and "Commercialization" are actively implemented in the Republic of Mari El. An analysis of the implementation of the programs at the regional level over the period 2007–2024 was carried out. In the Republic of Mari El, "UMNIK" (the Russian abbreviation for "Member of the Youth Research and Innovation Competition") is the most popular program in terms of participants’ activity. The financial support to the program made it possible to achieve significant results in research activities in the form of publications, creation of intellectual property objects, defended theses and dissertations, and, most importantly, it allowed the contestants to create their own commercializable projects. Using the cases of two small innovative enterprises of the Republic of Mari El, the authors show the effectiveness of the state program in improving the companies’ business operations in terms of sales revenue, business profits and job creation. Conclusion. To encourage business representatives to be more active in submitting applications for FASIE competitions, it is necessary to pay more attention to the science and technology component of the project, its individuality and patent protection. It is important to use all mechanisms of science-based business support, which have a broad focus.