Continued support of the EU and Switzerland for Serbia’s green transition
Serbia
Belgrade and Novi Sad
MEMBERS:
The Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia
Digital Serbia Initiative
"Serbia's booming startup scene reflects our blend of technical prowess, industry insight, robust support, and a shared commitment to innovation. With AI and Biotech at the forefront, exciting opportunities await."
Highlights
Serbia is a growing tech hub with a renowned engineering talent pool punctuated by the innovation focus of Belgrade and Novi Sad. Government, academia, and industry converge to create a robust ecosystem that pulled in $70 million of investments in 2023. In 2023 the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development invested a record $846 million in Serbia. In January 2024, China’s Shanghai Fengling Renewables and Serbia Zijin Copper invested $2.18 billion in Serbian renewable energy. In 2023, Serbia achieved record foreign trade goods exchange, a total exceeding $86 billion.
The 2025-2030 Strategy for the Development of Artificial Intelligence will continue to define objectives for the development of AI with a goal of economic growth, improvement of public services, advancement of scientific staff, and development of job skills. Science and Technology Parks are expanding in Belgrade, Niš, Novi Sad, and Čačak, and a new one is being built in Kruševac. A large private industry and technology park built by the Mind group is in development in Kragujevac. VC fund The Fifth Quarter started operations in 2023 with a focus on supporting startups in the Western Balkans. Serbian Business Angel Network of the Digital Serbia Initiative has invested a total of €1 million.
The Master 4.0 program provides multidisciplinary master's studies in Gaming and IT & Business. YugoGpt, the first large regional linguistic model which includes Serbian, Croatian, Montenegrin, and Bosnian was launched in 2023. SPLET Tech Conference will be held in Belgrade in October 2024, with attendance of 2500+ participants and 120+ speakers.
Ecosystem by the Numbers
NUMBER OF UNICORNS
(H2 2021 - 2023)
Sub-Sector Strengths
Gaming
Game development is one of the most promising sub-sectors in Serbia, with 120+ studios employing close to 3,000 professionals. Revenue of the Serbian gaming industry has a steady YOY increase of around 10%, while the top 15 Serbian companies in the sector had a revenue of €150 million in 2023. The Serbian Games Association provides programs for its 100+ members. In 2023, 3Lateral and Epic Games introduced the MetaHuman Animator, a tool that will significantly change the animation process, making characters more realistic.
Blockchain
The Law on Digital Assets recognizes digital tokens as legal digital assets. The Serbian Blockchain Summit 4.0 was held in January 2024 and the Blockchain Forensics Forum Belgrade took place in November 2023. The Serbian Blockchain Initiative is an organization dedicated to promoting Blockchain adoption, and attic42 was the first web3 venture builder in Serbia. Excellent 3 Supercluster provides resources for the development of a sustainable web3 ecosystem in Serbia by 2027.
Life Sciences
Construction of the BIO4 Campus, the first Life Sciences campus in the region, is underway, with expected completion in 2026. The campus will gather professors, researchers, 4,000 students, and 300 laboratories. In 2023, a new BioSense Institute building opened with facilities for scientific research and business ventures. The building will include a dedicated area for startups to encourage innovation. In October 2023, Belgrade hosted the International Biotech Future Forum in partnership with the World Economic Forum.
Reasons to Move Your Startup to Belgrade and Novi Sad
Tech Talent
Fueled by a robust education system that emphasizes technical and IT disciplines, Serbia produces world-class developers that are not only technically adept, but also recognized for problem-solving capabilities and adaptability to new tech trends. Universities and the IT industry collaborate through internships, research projects, incubation programs and industry-sponsored programs to equip graduates with the skills and experience needed to thrive.
Tax Incentives
Employers who hire individuals who have been unemployed for at least six months are entitled to a refund of a portion of payroll tax and social contributions. Qualifying small businesses are eligible for a refund of 75% of paid payroll tax and social contributions if at least two previously unemployed employees are hired. The R&D double deduction allows a corporate income tax payer to double deduct the direct costs of R&D.
International Connections
Serbia has strong ties to global markets and a lucrative open economy. Sitting at the crossroads between Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Serbia offers the ideal market for exploring a variety of business opportunities with strategic logistic links. The NINJA Global Project brought selected startups to Singapore in 2023 to open new market possibilities in the ecosystem. The Katapult accelerator brought five startups from its second cohort to ERA accelerator in New York.
Selected Startup Organizations
Startup Genome Members
MEMBER
The Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia
Key Ecosystem Players
News from the Ecosystem
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