Jelena Petrovic, Assistant Director of STP Belgrade, spoke at the Belgrade Venture Forum (BgVF) in the New funding opportunities in Serbia panel held online on 9 July about Raising Starts support program, which for the first time in Serbia brings professional and financial support up to 15,000 CHF to startups in the earliest stages of development.

The panel initiated a discussion on funding sources for startups in this area, with prospects for further development, and Raising Starts was highlighted as a significant novelty to support teams in the earliest stages of development, on the path from business idea to investment readiness and entry onto the global market.

As Petrovic said, startup teams of at least 2-member innovative companies established no longer than two years before the date of the announcement of the public call, which develop innovative products and services, can apply for the Raising Starst program. Through several public calls in the next 3 years, Raising Starts will support the 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.

The Raising Starts program was created through the project “Technopark Serbia 2 – Boosting Exports through Technoparks” by which the Swiss Government supports further development of innovation and tech entrepreneurship in Serbia under the cooperation signed between the Government of the Republic of Serbia (on behalf of the Government: Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development) and the Swiss Government (State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO). The goal is to establish and develop new innovative companies that will contribute to increasing exports and new jobs, and enable young people in Serbia to develop innovative businesses that can be competitive worldwide.