The Serbian ecosystem of startups, small innovative companies, is in the first phase of development, according to research by the American company Startup Genome, reports Netokracija. The first step in that process is the growth of the ecosystem itself, says the representative of the company Startup Genome, Stefan Kuster.
“We should encourage more people, who are not at university, but have not even started a career to opt for entrepreneurship. It is not easy, and the perception of personal risk can prevent a lot in this step,” says Kuster.
He also states that a clear message from government representatives is needed to all people who want to start their own business in one of the innovation branches.
Kuster adds that government officials should always point to positive examples in this area, especially those that show that some people have managed to maintain their existence while founding their company.
Some of the good examples of support, as he emphasizes, are the awarding of a twelve-month scholarship for young entrepreneurs, the possibility of employment for those who dared, but did not succeed.
Kuster believes this is a problem for young companies around the world when they want to transform from a group of friends into a professional company that has different funding, management and process requirements.
“Early and capital-based financing solutions, access to a professional accelerator program and truly outstanding mentoring are needed to increase the likelihood that a startup will grow into a scaling company,” Kuster points out.
He points out that today there are few companies in Serbia that are making such a successful transition, but he notes that this is not unusual, but typical for an ecosystem that is in the phase of its activation.
Kuster also says that Serbia stands out in the Western Balkans in terms of the size and level of development of its startup ecosystem, great progress in establishing policies that are more favorable and support entrepreneurship.
He assesses that these are important foundations on which to upgrade and notes that mentoring and knowledge exchange are a great way to further accelerate local development, because it opens new avenues for the sale of services in foreign markets.
Kuster also notes that in Serbia there are a number of founders of companies in the field of startups, which are far above the domestic average.
“New sectors, such as agrotech (innovation in agriculture), also provide additional opportunities, but work should be done to create appropriate private financing solutions in which the ecosystems behind Western Europe, Poland and Romania are far ahead,” says Stephan Kuster.
As the strongest branches of the domestic startup ecosystem in Serbia, Starup Genome research singled out the gaming industry and blockchain, Nova Ekonomija reports.
