startup serbia

Startup SerbiaEstablishment of the technology startup ecosystem in Serbia

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ce: K

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Startup EcosystemMain principle – Inclusiveness

Talent

University

Corporations

Support Services

Government& NGO

Capital

Mentors

Enterprenuers

Key findings:• Out of sync with a long term view• Runs in a short cycles (less than four years)• After an election few months for new administration to gears

up• And than launches brand new initiatives. • Startup communities can’t wait they are changing every day• Government operates as top down hierarchy• Startup communities operate as bottom up network

GovernmentGood news: Government is well intentioned!

Entrepreneur

• Lack of entrepreneurial culture 37% (by Infostud) - 50% (by Blic.rs) of young people would like to work in state owned company Top reason - safe salary.

• Fear of failure • 27 per cent of Serbian students were planning to leave the

country permanently after graduating (Student Union of Serbia)

• Despite everything we have stars like: Nordeus, Limundo, Telescin, Prelovac Media…

State of mind or something more?

"Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” - Winston Churchill

Startup Discovery - EspionageLessons learnt – startup communities must have regular activities that engage the entire entrepreneurial stack.

Make sure all the founders and founding teams are visible and connected to each other.

Sour

ce: K

auff

man

Ske

tchb

ook

EUR 25K ? This must be a joke! Our

minimum is 500K

Summer of 2012

Emphasis is on learning and discoveryThere is no fact inside the government, so get outside and learn

Startup discovery Program Validation Startup creation Building the Ecosystem

Not him again!May I apply?

Startup Serbia Cycle (Desired)

Preparing startups: • Mentorship driven education• Incubators

Networking • Connecting investors and startups

Seed investment Acceleration in technology parks

Ready for growth and VC

MVP for 2013

• Up to a million EUR financial support through three main components:• Financial incentives for Startups & Angel Investors

Equity free capitalUp to 50% of total investment - not exceeding EUR 25 000

• Financial support for programs of networking and education• Financial support for incubators and technology parks

• Legal Framework – set of laws are underway: e-Money, e-invoicing, Complete communication of business entities and citizens with Tax administration will be paper free by mid-2014

• Tax Breaks for R&D by 20% • Special procedure for payment of health and unemployment insurance

tax burden (taxes + contributions) against net earnings would be reduced by 35.5% (from 67% to 43%).

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT: siepa.gov.rs

Serbian Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA)

7th March 2013. - The Serbian government adopted the strategy

8th May 2013. – Startup Serbia Public call

Launch

CeBIT Hanover 2013 – Serbian corner

Dejan RestakAdvisor - Ministry of Finance and Economyt: @dejanrestak e: dejan.restak@mfp.gov.rs w: www.mfp.gov.rs