Telekom Serbia received all approvals for the establishment of the largest entrepreneurial (venture) fund in Serbia to help startup ideas.
It will be the largest fund of that type in the region, and the general director of Telekom, Vladimir Lucic, says that the company will invest 25 million euros in the fund in the next five years.
“It will definitely be the largest fund in the region. Venture Capital Fund is, by the way, a standard way of financing, where large corporations invest in startups and digital ideas. It is conceived as a special company run by professional management, which we are currently looking for in America and Israel, in the countries that are most recognizable for the development of startup ideas,” said Lucic on RTS.
Lucic states that the fund will start working later by June, and the first startup ideas will be financed in September.
He invited young people to feel free to contact and write to the fund every idea, in any form.
Lucic points out that Telecom will invest five million euros a year in the initial capital of the fund, and about 25 million euros during five years.
“We think that we will attract various private companies to be part of our fund, so that the initial fund will be significantly larger,” Lucic emphasized.
“Apart from professional management, we will create a supervisory board, where the most eminent people who deal with it would be in Serbia, in order to choose in the most transparent and better way which startups have a future and in which to invest,” Lucic emphasized.
The fund will initially finance startup ideas with 50,000 to 100,000 euros.
He notes that a new industrial revolution is taking place in the world and that it is no longer important to just make an application to achieve great success in the world in that area, but that some product of the future can be made, such as nanorobots or sensors for application in various fields.
“So far, we have had only individual successes of enthusiasts in Serbia, and this is the first time we would create a financing system where many ideas would go through the initial phase and there would be an opportunity to present more serious funds in America and grow. And as Israel can now to boast that it is equal to America in that, we think that Serbia will also be able to boast in Europe that we have the best ecosystem for that,” Lucic emphasized.
He expects that the information technology sector will be the main industry in Serbia and its main export product.
“Serbia really has a chance here, there is a small difference between rich and poor countries, because that initial investment in startups is not great,” said Lucic and emphasized that many will have a chance.
He adds that in a large number of cases, a startup idea, when it succeeds, is sold to big players.
Lucic points out that the fund will be focused, above all, on Serbia, but that the plan is to expand it to the region, from Slovenia to Northern Macedonia.
“In the second year of the fund, we will try to be part of a fund in America or Israel, in order to increase the income of our fund and to become part of those large funds that find startups,” Lucic said, adding that the fund’s funds will be significantly higher.
“All these startup companies will really have a chance to be part of the world market competition,” says the CEO of Telecom.
Lucic adds that the fund will be one of the ways to increase Telecom’s income from digital services.
“I am completely sure that this fund will help the value of Telekom Serbia increase many times over and that it will be a leader in the region,” Lucic stated, B92 reports.
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