innovation fund’s support programmes for startups

This article was developed within the program Venture an Idea funded by the USAID.

In the period from September 15^th to November 15^th, 2022, innovative enterprises and teams can participate in the new Public Call for grants through the Innovation Fund’s support programmes.

Funds of EUR 3.2 million are jointly provided by the Republic of Serbia and the European Union through the IPA Project: Increased Innovation Capacity and Technological Readiness of SMEs.

In the third application cycle, financial incentives for the transformation of innovative ideas into sustainable projects are provided by the Innovation Fund (IF) through the Mini Grants Programme and the Matching Grants Programme. With clearly defined criteria, the programmes are designed for the development of new products, services or technologies with a strong innovative potential to meet the market needs.

IF allocates from EUR 80,000 to 300,000 per single project, depending on the programme, while enterprises are obliged to provide part of the funds from private sources. With this approach, the IF and enterprises jointly participate in the development of innovative solutions, which consequently has a positive impact on the national economy.

Submission of project applications from all fields of science and technology and all industrial sectors are conducted via the IF’s portal, while the required documentation for the application and detailed information regarding the Public Call can be found on the IF's website.

With the aim of introducing all interested applicants to the conditions and details for submitting project applications, the IF’s team will provide daily support. The 'Open Doors' workshops will be organised once a week. Information sessions will also be regularly organised, in cooperation with local partners, as well as all organisations linked to SMEs and scientific research institutions.

Positive experiences from previous cycles of IF support to the domestic innovative sector have attributed to continued investment in the IF's portfolio, which consists of sustainable and reliable support mechanisms.

More about the project can be found on http://www.inovacionifond.rs/

This article is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this program are the responsibility of Nova Iskra and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.