The Innovation Fund has launched a new acceleration program Catapult, which will provide mentoring and financial support to companies through intensive training and networking with investors in order to strengthen the startup community in Serbia.
Catapult will help innovative companies oriented to growth, to position themselves on the global market, as well as to improve business capacities in development, which will increase the possibility of attracting private investments, it was specified in the announcement.
As stated, the program in the first phase offers a three-month mentorship and provides support in the form of grants from 20,000 to 50,000 euros, and companies that provide a qualified investment within nine months of completion of acceleration, additional support is available through a co-investing grant of qualified investments, a maximum of 300,000 euros per company.
The acceleration program is open to all innovative companies that are in the early stages of product development and market conquest, as well as to companies with proven market traction that aim to accelerate their growth and raise additional funding.
The applications of companies from all areas of science and technology, and the industrial sector, are submitted through the Catapult portal by December 6 this year, it is stated in the announcement.
The amount of seven million euros until 2024, for Catapult program, is provided on the basis of the loan agreement between Serbia and the World Bank through the “Project of accelerating innovation and encouraging the growth of entrepreneurship in the Republic of Serbia.” Additional technical assistance in the implementation of the program is provided by the World Bank, and is financed by the EU, Danas reports.
