Marko Čadež, president of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS), discussed Serbia’s potential to become a hub for creative technologies and fast-growing companies during his visit to Lisbon. Čadež highlighted Belgrade’s opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Lisbon, which gained recognition as a European technology hub after the Web Summit moved there from Ireland ten years ago.
Čadež pointed to the upcoming EXPO 2027 as a key moment for Belgrade to position itself as a center for innovation and startups. He expressed confidence that Serbia has already garnered attention and success in the global tech ecosystem, with EXPO 2027 providing a major opportunity to accelerate this growth.
Alongside Minister of Science, Technological Development, and Innovation, Jelena Begović, Čadež visited Lisbon’s “Unicorn Factory”—one of Portugal’s most successful startup ecosystems. Čadež praised Lisbon’s achievement in becoming a leading innovation hub after hosting the Web Summit and emphasized that Serbia is working intensively to capitalize on the same opportunity with Expo 2027.
Begović shared her optimism about Serbia’s future in the global startup scene, predicting the emergence of the country’s first “unicorns”—startups valued at over one billion dollars—within the next three to five years. She highlighted the purpose of the visit as an opportunity to learn from Lisbon’s success in fostering an innovation-driven ecosystem.
Serbia is also making a notable impact at this year’s Web Summit in Lisbon, where 60 Serbian startups are showcasing their innovations. Čadež noted that Serbia is one of the four countries with the largest number of startups at the event, and for the first time, Serbia has its own dedicated “island” at the Web Summit. This pavilion serves as a hub for presenting Serbian startups to the global market and exchanging ideas on cutting-edge technologies.
