50 startups in the race for 250,000 euros in investments

The team of the Pioneers Festival – one of the leading European startup conferences in the field of venture capital held annually in Vienna – and the organizers of the Balkan Venture Forum will host the finals of the competition “Pioneers of the Balkans”, a special competition for entrepreneurs, startups, and innovative small and medium enterprises from the Western Balkans region.

The finals and the conference “Pioneers of the Balkans” will take place in Zagreb on December 3 and 4. The competition was initiated by the World Bank Group and is funded by the European Commission.

During the two-day conference, the 50 best teams selected during the semifinals in Belgrade (held concurrently with the Belgrade Venture Forum from November 12 to 14) among 349 participants will have the opportunity to present their business ideas on stage in front of an international audience of business angels, venture capital investors, business leaders, and media representatives. Additionally, another 50 entrepreneurs who received high scores from 70 jury members in Belgrade have been invited to participate as guests of the conference.

Since the conclusion of the semifinals, these 50 startup companies and innovators known as “The Best of the Balkans” have been attending individual presentation training sessions with international trainers. They will gather on the final training day, December 2, at the main headquarters of Vipnet in Zagreb.

The best teams in the finals are likely to attract offers from some of the attending investors after the competition. Three independent venture capital funds – Speedinvest, J&T Ventures, and Startlabs – have committed to jointly invest a minimum of 250,000 € in teams from the region (subject to detailed evaluation). In addition to these three funds, other European VC funds such as Point Nine Capital and TechFounders, as well as the two most renowned global accelerator programs – 500 Startups and Techstars – will also be present at the conference.