The opening ceremonies were attended by the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, Ana Brnabic, Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development, Mladen Sarcevic, Minister without Portfolio in charge of Technological Development, Nenad Popovic, Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation in Belgrade, H. E. Philippe Guex, mayors of the cities of Nis and Cacak and representatives of universities and different science institutions.
The Ambassador of Switzerland to the Republic of Serbia H.E. Philippe Guex welcomed the fact that innovation has become a strategic priority in Serbia, not just on paper, but also in practice, as we see examples of investment in an innovative future. “It is our pleasure to contribute to this priority through our project Boosting Exports through Technoparks within the framework of the Swiss cooperation with Serbia. In December 2019 together with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development we signed an agreement for this project with a Swiss contribution of EUR 3.5 million. But it is less the question of money here, and more the question of friendship and solidarity between our two countries. With this new project, we aim at further developing a network that will stimulate development based on innovation and knowledge and increase the competitiveness of Serbia’s high-tech industry.”
In order to create conditions for the accelerated development of the newly established Tehnoparks, capable of supporting the establishment and rapid development of innovative, export-oriented companies, the model, knowledge and experience of Science Technology Park Belgrade will be transferred for building regional capacities and strengthening innovation potential. Within the approved project funds overall EUR 1.15 million non-refundable is dedicated for innovative startup teams in the early stages of development, which will result in the establishment and development of 100 new startup companies in Belgrade, Nis and Cacak.
The first tenants in Nis are companies (12 growing tech firms and 19 startups) operating in the field of high technologies– blockchain, robotics, and gaming, among which are some that are already market leaders, standing out due to the quality of their products and services. A total of 4170 m2 of office space is available to innovators in Nis for rent. In Cacak, so far 7 companies have signed the rent agreements.
The project will create conditions for the development of these regions, based on knowledge and innovation, encouraging young people to develop their ideas, establish technology companies and establish their economic existence in Serbia. Through the various modalities of support, which will be provided by the Project, they will acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to develop their innovations faster and enter the global market.
The project “Technopark Serbia 2 – Boosting export through techno parks” was supported by the Government of Switzerland at the initiative of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, based on impressive results in the previous phase, in establishing and developing of STP Belgrade as the first functional science technology park in Serbia. So far, Switzerland’s support to the development of technology parks in Serbia has been EUR 4,520,000 in total.
