USAID AND ICT HUB - PARTNER TO SPUR INNOVATION IN SERBIAN ECONOMY
Serbia Innovates will form the first Serbian Supercluster and will last four-and-a-half-years.
ICT Hub and US Agency for International development (USAID) officially launched the “Serbia Innovates” project on 18 June 2021 in Belgrade. Its partners, Public Policy Research Center and WM Equity Partners were presented to representatives of economy, startup and academia, investors, government and non-government sector.
The aim of the Serbia Innovates project is designing of the innovation friendly environment in Serbia that will accelerate the economic development of our country.
"During the last five years, I have seen so many local success stories in the digital sphere, from companies like Nordeus, to Seven Bridges Genomics, or CarGo and Strawberry Energy. These successes confirm that there is definitely potential. But, Serbia needs more frequent co-engagement between innovative start-ups and the traditional economy”, said Shanley Pinchotti, USAID Serbia acting Mission Director.
Kosta Andric, the General Manager of ICT Hub explained: “In recent years, hundreds of startups, hubs, incubators, accelerators appeared. More and more companies are recognizing the importance of innovation and are starting to cooperate, developing digital strategies and nurturing entrepreneurship. What we need now is a brave and concrete strategy, based on globally proven concepts and specific potentials we know we have.
"The research will last till autumn when we will decide which four domains will be tested in a real environment. Testing will show which domain has the biggest chance to make an economic stride in Serbian economy and therefore become the first Serbian Supercluster", said Aleksandra Popovic, Chief of Party of Serbia Innovates project.
“At the event, we organized voting, because we wanted to see what our guests think about the results of the first section of the research. They turned out to believe the greatest potential lies in high-tech agricultural production, artificial intelligence and the gaming industry, concluded Branka Andjelkovic, co-founder and program director of the Public Policy Research Centre.
