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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia leader in the Balkans in startup development

Belgrade, 29 August 2019

Minister without portfolio in charge of innovation and technological development Nenad Popovic said today that Serbian engineering staff is ranked among the top five in the world according to a survey by the US Startup Genome.

Popovic said at a press conference presenting the results of the 2019 Global Startup Ecosystem Report that this research is an important signal for investors to invest in Serbia and Serbian startup companies.

Serbia is the only country in the region that is part of this global survey and has been rated the best, 10 for investment growth and nine for growth in the total number of startup companies, the Minister said.

He pointed out that blockchain and the video game industry were rated as the most developed areas, noting that in the "gaming" area Serbia was designated as one of the most promising ecosystems in Europe.

Also, he added, the tax incentives Serbia gives to technology companies are very positive, as it is an important signal for investors to come to our country and to develop new technologies, relying on the knowledge of Serbian engineers.

He noted that the state is already investing more than 60 million euros in the development of innovation infrastructure in university centres - Belgrade, Novi Sad and Nis.

In addition, we are opening regional innovation startup centres in smaller cities and municipalities across Serbia, with the opening of eight such centres this year, and six more in 2020, the minister announced.

Founder and CEO of Startup Genome Jean-Francois Gauthier reiterated that Serbia has taken the lead in the Balkans when it comes to developing startups.

He pointed out that it is very important that the government of Serbia invests significant resources in innovation infrastructure and incubators, which gives excellent results in this area.