Among more than three thousand companies that presented themselves at last week’s Web Summit in Lisbon, one of the two official Croatian unicorns, Infobip, was also present. We had the opportunity to visit its booth at the gathering advertised as the largest technology event in the world thanks to the European Commission’s Representation in Zagreb, which enabled Croatian journalists to attend this event as part of a broader study trip that also included a visit to the European Maritime Safety Agency led by Marija Markovčić Kostelac.
In a brief conversation with product director Ervin Jagatić, we touched on the ‘hot topic’ for many Croatian companies, the lack of institutional support for exhibitions at major fairs. Many entrepreneurs have long complained that they have to finance such large gatherings themselves, although, as Jagatić confirmed, the benefits for Croatian companies, and thus for the entire Croatian economy, are very tangible. Given that even a smaller booth at events of this level usually costs around 50 thousand euros, without other costs such as booth design, it is clear why especially small and medium-sized enterprises demand stronger involvement from the state and public institutions in this form of promotion, following the example of some other countries like Slovenia.
Jagatić explained that Infobip participated independently at this fair, but also added that the state should actively support smaller companies, especially startups that want to present themselves at such significant events, as they find it difficult to afford participation at events of this format compared to larger companies. He also confirmed the concrete benefits of appearing not only due to achieving greater visibility and raising awareness about the company’s products, which in Infobip’s case is a result of strengthening marketing activities after successfully launching its communication platform globally, but also through networking that inevitably leads to closing deals and establishing new business collaborations.
