More than a million reasons for innovation - Open call for StarTech grants up to $50,000 and accelerated development Program
Innovators in Serbia have the opportunity for the fourth time to apply for the StarTech program and receive up to $50,000 in non-repayable assistance. Additionally, this year, a competition for the accelerated development Program has been introduced, which includes training, mentorship, and support in the development and marketing of materials to showcase our innovators in the best light to potential investors and foreign markets. This also includes the opportunity to participate in events connecting startups and investors, as well as international fairs and exhibitions.
The competition is part of a broader project by Philip Morris, totaling eight million euros, implemented by NALED with the support of the Government of Serbia, aimed at accelerating economic growth and transforming our economy into a digital, export-oriented one based on knowledge and innovation.
Minister of science, technological development, and innovation, Dr. Jelena Begović, stated that the focus of StarTech on connecting faculties, research organizations, and businesses is crucial to facilitate the development of innovative products and services.
"This project has been contributing to key priorities of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for three years now, which are digitalization and accelerated economic development based on science, creativity, and new technologies. Together with our partners from PMI and NALED, we are building a new innovation ecosystem to support innovators, aiming for stronger economic development and overall societal progress," said Dr. Begović.
Public and private sectors must work together on such reform efforts, concluded Ivan Miletić, director of corporate affairs for the southeast Europe region at Philip Morris.
"When we launched StarTech, we had a clear goal, which is the transformation of the domestic economy based on knowledge. The project has contributed to increasing the number of innovative businesses in our country, creating better conditions for innovators, and positioning Serbia as a country that encourages and supports innovative businesses. What is interesting is that simultaneously with this project, we were also in the process of transforming our company and the entire industry," said Miletić.
Jelena Bojović, Program Director at NALED, announced that for the next two competitions, non-repayable funds in the amount of one million dollars have been allocated.
"After the first three years of the program, during which support was primarily focused on early-stage innovations, we continue activities with a focus on projects with a higher level of readiness for entering domestic and foreign investment markets, products, and services. In this cycle, we will therefore award at least ten larger grants and provide support through the accelerated development Program," explained Bojović, adding that free expert support for preparing applications for the competition is available to all interested parties until May 10th.
StarTech has supported 82 innovations through grants totaling around three million euros so far. Among the awarded projects are devices for neurological rehabilitation, baby temperature monitoring, dog tracking, mobile head scanner, sign language automatic translation software, agriculture production monitoring applications, diabetes probiotics, helicobacter pylori supplements, and forest fire prevention systems.
COMING Computer Engineering successfully realized their idea and created robots for agricultural work with the help of the StarTech project. A representative of this company, Višnja Crnogorac, invited all interested parties to apply for the new round of the competition.
"These projects are very important, and the support we received was invaluable to us. In Serbia, there are paths for ideas to become reality. We developed robots in collaboration with the faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Niš," said Crnogorac.
The deadline for applications is May 31st, and detailed information about the program, all requirements, and necessary documentation for participation can be found on the website www.startech.org.rs. For any additional information, the Contact Center is available at info@startech.org.rs and the phone number 0800 000020."
