Innovation fuels Europe’s economic competitiveness, but many entrepreneurs struggle to get support to bring their ideas to life. One development attracting attention in parts of Europe are science technology parks.
“Innovation is a key factor in a country's economic success, but it also comes with risks,” says Gordana Danilović Grković, director of the Science Technology Park Belgrade. “If a business idea fails, an innovator bears the loss, but if it succeeds, the entire society benefits.”
Mentors and experts
The Science Technology Park Belgrade was the first of its kind in Serbia when it opened in 2015. It uses mentors and experts from a range of sectors to help companies find financing and enter new markets, connecting them with communities that can propel their growth. So far, the park has supported over 240 early-stage tech companies, two-thirds of which are startups. That has made Belgrade one of the centres of innovation in the Balkans.
The European Investment Bank has backed the park since its start.
Support from the EU’s financing arm
The Belgrade park began as a partnership between the Serbian government, the city of Belgrade and the University of Belgrade, with the support of the Swiss government. It also received support from the European Investment Bank, using part of a €200 million loan signed with Serbia in 2010 to improve research and development in the public sector.
Two-thirds of the companies supported by the park are startups. As the region's technological hub, the park has developed eight programmes tailored to different development phases, including Raising Starts, Serbia's first pre-seed accelerator. These programmes support companies employing over 2 800 highly educated individuals and exporting to over 60 countries. Companies can benefit from three innovation laboratories within the park (3D Lab, Laser Lab and Electro Lab).
Integration of the high-tech market
EIB Global, the development arm of the European Investment Bank, is often supporting innovation and small businesses. In Serbia, this support has translated into new science-technology parks, innovation labs, and renovated facilities for scientists.
“The Western Balkans region can gain significantly from the development of robust venture capital markets and enhanced collaboration among the scientific, governmental and business communities to foster its startup ecosystem,” says Damien Sorrell, head of the EIB Global regional hub for the Western Balkans. “Institutions such as the Science-Technology Park in Belgrade drive the growth that comes with of high-technology businesses. Such innovation hubs should be expanded further to identify cooperative platforms that can integrate the regional market and secure its global positioning.”
Innovation ecosystem in the Western Balkans
One goal for the Belgrade park was to show that it is possible to develop complex platforms in the region, and another aim was to reveal the potential of young people from the university, Grković says. “This is paving the way for the establishment of other centres of excellence in Serbia and beyond, following our example.”
The Serbian government has helped build three other science and technology parks in Novi Sad and Niš (benefiting from European Investment Bank funding), as well as in Čačak. Novi Sad and Niš received funding from the European Investment Bank loan made in 2010. Science Technology Park Belgrade has also helped to set up similar innovation hubs in Montenegro’s capital, Podgorica, and in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Science Technology Park Serbia
Partnerships around the world
Since its establishment, the park has been building a startup ecosystem and encouraging young people to become entrepreneurs. It has developed services and programmes for new teams and companies, as well as for more advanced tech firms looking to enter new markets and attract investment.
“The park’s experts have been providing support in strategy development, venture capital funding, financial negotiations and legal aspects,” Grković says.
It has also established partnerships across the world in locations such as Israel, France, Spain, the United Kingdom and Switzerand.
"In 2024 alone, we organized five missions to discover new markets for Serbian startups, enabling them to participate in leading global tech conferences such as VivaTech, Web Summit, StartupDays, and London Tech Week," Grković says.
Startups operating in the Science Technology Park Belgrade are working in the fields of information technology, biomedicine, robotics, nanoscience, energy efficiency, smart cities, and innovative agriculture. They are developing various innovative products in fields as diverse as house plants in apartments, non-invasive remote monitoring of bee colonies, personalized approaches to women's health, therapeutic toys for speech therapists or robot-based learning platforms for children.
More than just an office space
Grković emphasizes that it is important to understand the goals and functions of such organizations that support innovation and to avoid traps. “It is important to know how to engage with organisations of this kind to avoid the misconceptions that have often complicated the development of parks, incubators, innovation centres, and hubs,” Grković says. “Institutions such as the Belgrade park should not be reduced to merely renting office spaces or judged solely by the number of events and projects they host.”
Rather, their success should be based on metrics such as the number of new startup companies, their growth, the commercialisation of innovations, the growth of exports, and new jobs, she says.
"Only when viewed through this lens can parks reach their full potential and make a meaningful contribution to economic growth," Grković says.
PUBLIC SECTOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
The project concerns a series of investments aimed at revitalising public R&D in Serbia.
