Centre for European perspective (CEP) has successfully launched its first event in the framework of the Start:up Balkan tour. 80 young entrepreneurial people participated in the workshop and 10 start-ups pitched their idea in front of business experts and potential investors.
Event in Belgrade was opened by Zoja Kukić, SEE ICT, who shortly presented start-up ecosystem in Serbia, and main issues in the region, followed by Simona Grobelnik, Head of Development, Slovene enterprise fund, who presented good practices of start-up ecosystem in Slovenia, touched upon the importance of hearing out the needs of startups and stressed the need for cooperation between public and private sectors. Gorazd Justinek, CEP Director shade a light on role of CEP as the initiator of the project held as one of the first projects within Positive Agenda for the Youth in the Western Balkans adopted at the Brdo-Brijuni process summit in Slovenia in April 2015. Finally Matej Rus presented Podim conference and ways for startups to join.
Keynote speeches were delivered by Darko Butina, Partner, BUDS (Slovenia), with a salient topic on blockchain, cryptos and ICOs, Philipp Stangl, Managing Director at Pioneers Ventures (Austria) with insights on how to successfuly start a start-up and Carlos Eduardo Espinal, Managing Partner at Seedcamp (United Kingdom) with importance and advantages of investments in the region. Investors joined into a panel on current funding landscape in the region.
10 local and international start-ups were given a chance for a three-minute pitch, followed by a feedback delivered by experts and potential investors. Event concluded with informal meeting in relaxed environment between investors and startups.
Start:up Balkan is program in the framework of the project ‘Establishing an Integrated Start-up Ecosystem in the Western Balkans’ powered by CEP and PODIM and supported by the British embassy in Ljubljana.
