Third time's the charm for innovators - Supporting 25 StarTech stars
Biodegradable packaging material made from industrial hemp, a dog tracking collar, a system for early detection of the risk of forest fires, software for identifying counterfeit goods on the Internet are just some of the 25 innovations that received grants in the third competition of the StarTech program. The money will help them develop their products and conquer the domestic and foreign markets in the next year and a half.
At the final ceremony, checks ranging from 15,000 to 60,000 dollars were awarded to them by the Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabić, the Minister of Science, Technological Development and Innovation Jelena Begović, the Philip Morris International General Manager for Southeast Europe Aleksandar Jakovljević and NALED Executive Director Violeta Jovanović.
- In the 21st century, we have to act like a startup nation and be brave. The goal is that by the end of the mandate of the next government, Serbia will have exports in the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector of more than 10 billion euros. We already have 104,000 employees in the ICT sector, and our goal is to have 140,000. We defined artificial intelligence and biotechnology as priority areas because we have the best results there. We will work on simplifying the import of medical equipment for research and development - pointed out Brnabić.
The conference also presented the second edition of the Grey Book of Innovation, bringing 45 recommendations for the improvement of the innovation ecosystem in Serbia, and Minister Begović received the first copy.
- Our sweetest step is related to the cooperation between science and businesses through scholarshipd doctorates, and we are starting to work extensively on tis topic. Working with NALED showed us that someone from the outside can direct us better and show us what we lack in order to have a great innovation ecosystem - said Begović.
The StarTech project is a three-year initiative worth five million dollars that was launched at the end of 2020 by Philip Morris and NALED in cooperation with the Government of Serbia in order to jointly support the development of innovation and the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises in our country.
- In this third round, we had the most applications, 302, almost a third more than the previous year, which is the best proof that StarTech has come to life and that there is great potential for its further upgrade. In these three years, we have supported a total of 82 innovative projects, and the value of individual donations that we have invested in the development of these companies is between 15,000 and 100,000 dollars. Among the new 25 grant winners, we have everything "from a needle to a locomotive" or in our case - from a hook (application for fishermen) to an airplane (data analytics in aviation) - said Aleksandar Jakovljević and announced the continuation of the project in the next three years.
He also reminded that the company Philip Morris International continued to listen to the needs and opportunities in the domestic market and, thanks to the partnership with the Government of the Republic of Serbia and successful cooperation with NALED, recently launched another project - PMInnovia, which follows the path of scientific cooperation and economy that was traced by the state.
In this way, it will provide an opportunity for scientists from Serbia to adapt their ideas and scientific research projects to the specific needs of this company and the market in general.
- StarTech and the Philip Morris company show that together with the Government, both foreign investors and domestic business angels can be initiators of initiatives that create a place for Serbia in the company of the best. I hope that this example motivates other companies to support startups, scientific research projects and business ideas because it is the way to create quality jobs, especially for young educated people, and the development of Serbia as a knowledge economy - concluded Violeta Jovanović.
Grant winners
The most grants, a total of 15, were awarded in Lot 1 intended to support business startups to develop an innovative idea into a product prototype. The grant winners are Bifrost Bioplastics from Jagodina, Smart Forest - WF Software from Čajetina, Vetroinženjering from Čačak, Canandi and Smart Document Builder as a Service - SDBS from Niš and Dently.AI, F&A, Farmers Assistance Platform, Hydrolyzer, Inclusio, LegalSafe, LungVision , Smartsy, Uniborn, Veles Sense from Belgrade.
Eight grants were awarded in Lot 2, intended to support the launch of an innovative product on the market, and the winners were Bacillomix Co from Novi Sad, Pixxy and Pro Media Creative from Niš, Laviefarm, Mindberg, Reputeo, Sanum per fructus and Talks and Folks from Belgrade.
Two grants were awarded in Lot 3, primarily intended for entering the foreign market. The winners are Aerozz Consulting from Belgrade and Cropt from Novi Sad.
This year, the audience that gave the most votes to the LungVision team from Belgrade for the development of precise classification of chest x-rays for determining the probability of existence of various lung diseases had the opportunity to choose their favorite.
