Innovation Croatia – leading the way in the region.
While in Croatia the word Balkans has many negative connotations, Pioneers of the Balkans conference, whose final was held on Thursday and Friday in Zagreb, showed that Croatian start-ups are undisputed champions of the region, with six of the top ten regional start-ups coming from Croatia. The organizers of the conference were the World Bank, European Commission and three VC funds – Speedinvest, J&T Ventures and StartLabs, reports Poslovni.hr on December 7, 2015.
The best results were achieved by Supracontrol from Zagreb. This young company has developed a series of smart devices for industry and won the Business and Productivity category. Austrian-American VC fund SpeedInvest offered to the founders to start negotiations about an investment worth 100,000 euros. In addition, Nikkei, the largest business daily in the world, the one which has given its name to the Tokyo Stock Exchange Index and the owner of the Financial Times, invited the start-up to the Asian edition of the Pioneers of Asia conference.
Yoshihiro Hirata, CEO of Nikkei, who also extended an invitation to Hrvoje Prpić and his start-up Trillenium, said he was convinced that the start-up scene in the Balkans is very active. “Numerous Japanese investors and large companies are actively monitoring the European start-up scene, and invitations that we have extended to Croatian teams for the Pioneers of Asia conference represent an important possibility for them to present themselves to eastern markets”, Hirata said.
Of 589 start-ups from the region which sent their applications, the final round included 54 companies which were presented in Zagreb, including 22 start-ups from Croatia. Interest of investors at the conference has also been aroused by IndieKnow, a new B2B platform for tourism which received an offer by the Czech investment fund J&T Ventures. In Biotechnology and Energy category, the first place went to Dental BioSciences from Zagreb which developed new materials for tooth fillings, as well as other bone fillers which enable the necessary regeneration of bones. In the Mobility and Transport category, Croatian start-up SailRouter took the first prize with an application that allows boat owners to optimize fuel consumption, while the Lifestyle and Entertainment category brought first place to Boya Crayons, an innovative drawing tool which provides for freer artistic expression.
Ana Paula Cusolito from the World Bank pointed out that this was an extremely important project for the Bank, since innovations are one of the most important sources of competitiveness. “We want to help innovative start-ups and small and medium enterprises to gain access to funds, as well as companies and countries in the region to build innovative entrepreneurial communities”, Cusolito concluded.
