Innovation Serbia Project presented in Kragujevac, Nis, Novi Sad and Novi Pazar


15.12.2011

€ 8.4 million Innovation Serbia Project, funded by the EU Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) allocated for Serbia in 2011, and administered by the World Bank, was presented in December 2011, in Kragujevac, Niš, Novi Sad and Novi Pazar.

On that occasion, the first call for proposals of the Innovation Fund`s Mini Grants Program was presented. This Program provides a unique opportunity for budding Serbian entrepreneurs and high-tech startups. The Mini Grants program will finance up to 85 percent of project costs for activities such as development of proof of concept, prototyping, and business plan preparation, of up to €80,000. Companies with early stage projects, up to one year in duration, are encouraged to apply for financing for their innovative projects by January 31, 2012.

The Innovation Serbia Project provides Serbia with 8.4 million EUR to develop the institutional capacity to stimulate innovative activities in the enterprise sector. In addition to capacity building and the introduction of new financial instruments, technical assistance on technology transfer and commercialization will be provided by the World Bank to select interested Research and Development Institutes, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science. The project will address critical missing elements of the Serbian innovation system that are vital for improving competitiveness and ensuring Serbia’s longer term sustainable economic growth prospects.

The Interim Managing Director of the Innovation Fund, Ljiljana Kundaković, added that the goal of the Innovation Fund was to secure financing for innovative SMEs that are in the early stage of technological development, primarily through funds from international financial organizations and institutions. The Launch of the Innovation Serbia Project is the first initiative of this kind.

All the presentations were organized in cooperation with the Universities in these cities and were attended by many researchers, businessmen and representatives of national, regional and local institutions.