Thirty-five startup teams were selected in a fierce competition to participate in the first Raising Starts program to support startups in the earliest stages of development, which the Science Technology Park Belgrade is implementing with the support of theSwiss Government ! The first workshops will start on 15 March, and local and international mentors, experts with many years of experience and major references in the field of business building and startup development, will work with the teams.

It’s time for new ideas to shine!

The first public call for the Raising Starts program received more than 180 applications, and the great interest once again confirmed that there is a huge potential for innovation and development of startups in Serbia.

The program consists of 2 phases. During the Phase 1, which will last about a month, the participants will receive professional support for acquiring business skills, market validation of problems and characteristics of innovative products/services. The participants will also receive special support in the field of intellectual property rights, in close cooperation with the Swiss Federal Institute for Intellectual Property, which will be active in the program, and the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia. At the end of Phase 1, the teams and the companies, that meet the pre-set criteria, will present their ideas on DemoDay to an expert jury. Up to 15 teams, according to the decision of the jury, will have the opportunity to participate in Phase 2, in which they will receive additional training and mentoring sessions, and financial support of up to 10,000 Swiss francs for software development, and up to 15,000 Swiss francs for new product development (hardware).

Raising Starts is the first program of this type in Serbia that provides professional and financial support to startups in the earliest stages of development, created through the project “Technopark Serbia 2 – Boosting Exports through Technoparks” by which the Swiss Government supports further development of innovation and technological entrepreneurship in Serbia, implemented by Science Technology Park Belgrade.

The goal of the program is to speed up the development of innovative products and services and support startups in overcoming obstacles on their way from a business idea to readiness for investment and entry onto the global market.

Through several public calls in the next 3 years, Raising Starts will support the establishment and development of up to 100 new startup companies, and in addition to Belgrade, it will expand its coverage to the regions of Nis and Cacak.