HAMAG-BICRO has become a part of international ecosystem for innovations and technology

The Croatian Agency for SMEs, Innovation and Investments (HAMAG-BICRO) and InnoEnergy signed a Cooperation Agreement today. The agreement has been signed by Christo Balinow, business development manager of InnoEnergy for Central and Eastern Europe, and Vjeran Vrbanec, president of HAMAG-BICRO’s Board of Directors.

“Since 2016., through different research, development and innovation programs, HAMAG-BICRO has enabled 210 million euros of investment for 344 projects for which 117 million euros of non-refundable funds have been ensured. We are extremely pleased to broaden our offer of services and support for entrepreneurs to an international level by collaborating with InnoEnergy.” – said Vjeran Vrbanec, president of HAMAG-BICRO’s Board of Directors.

With this Agreement, HAMAG-BICRO and InnoEnergy will join efforts to work on providing support to entrepreneurs in creating products for the global market through different models of business development services tailored to the entrepreneurs needs, connecting entrepreneurs with an international network of partners from the industry and presenting innovative solutions to business angels and investors. On the national level these activities will be led by InnoEnergy HUB Croatia – Invento Capital Partners, managed by Dalibor Marijanović.

Given the complementary work of HAMAG-BICRO and InnoEnergy, the cooperation will include joint activities:

• Workshops and trainings for entrepreneurs – PRIMER pre-acceleration program
• Start-up competitions and matchmaking events – PowerUp!
• Support to start-ups in creating a product for the global market
• Initiatives of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and InnoEnergy – European Battery Alliance
• Cooperation with over 400 international partners from the industry and the academic community, business and public sector – during The Business Booster conference and exhibition of innovations

„Since we have recognized the potential of innovation ecosystem in Croatia through our previous work, cooperation with HAMAG-BICRO has been the logical next step in opening opportunities on the European market for Croatian innovators, and an important step in exchanging experience and knowledge with the leading innovation agency in Croatia“- said Christo Balinow, business development director of InnoEnergy Central Europe.

As a first activity in this cooperation, HAMAG-BICRO will suport PRIMER pre-acceleration program for development of innovation and entrepreneurship through Enterprise Europe Network. The goal of the program is to give professional support to young innovators in the early stage of business idea development, give them guidelines for further product development and strenghten the skills necessary for presentation to the public and investors. For the chosen 10 start-ups and/or companies with innovative solutions there will be a 40-hour program of education, workshops and mentoring. Applications for PRIMER open on 8th of April in 2019. on http://inventocapitalpartners.eu

This way, HAMAG BICRO will provide professional support to Croatian entrepreneurs through the international network of InnoEnergy partners, once again asserting the success of its work in the international innovation ecosystem.