21.7.2016
Zagreb County Regional Development Agency and its partners Hrvatski Telekom, IBM, and SmartIS kick-start entrepreneurship and enhance the tourism programmes and the development of smart city solutions
Zagreb County Regional Development Agency launched co-operation with Hrvatski Telekom, the leading telecommunication services provider on the Croatian market, as well as with IBM, one of the leading companies for computer and information technologies at the global level, and SmartIS information systems, aiming to provide technical support and professional expertise for the development of entrepreneurship and innovations in the City of Zagreb.
The first joint project is entitled “Startup Factory Zagreb”, and it has been allocated non-refundable funds worth HRK 750,000 for development teams and start-up companies.
In addition to the previously mentioned partners, support for the project is also provided by the City of Zagreb, Zagreb Tourist Board, Prague Startup Centre, Lean Startup Croatia, E-student, and Spin City.
In December 2015, Zagreb won the title of the best European Christmas Destination amongst 20 European cities. Moreover, it continuously enhances the tourism programmes in the city and develops new smart city technological solutions. Zagreb is striving to become a smart city tourist destination and this will be achieved also due to “Startup Factory Zagreb“, the first no equity pre-accelerator programme in Croatia. We are hereby inviting students, entrepreneurs, and all those with ideas that could enhance the development of Smart City tourism to apply for the programme that provides financial resources, technology, mentorship, and promotion.
Through the project entitled “Startup Factory Zagreb”, partners will provide professional knowledge and services that will create the prerequisites for the development of ecosystems and networking amongst start-up companies, top experts, the academic community, investors, and other holders of development projects in Zagreb. Moreover, they will provide the expertise, the tools, mentorship, and infrastructure support to young teams and companies in the initial and the riskiest early phase of their operation, whilst Smart City solutions intended to improve the quality of life of Zagreb citizens and the increasing number of tourists will be developed through comprehensive co-operation with the Zagreb County Regional Development Agency.
Those interested in the project entitled Startup Factory Zagreb can apply in two ways. The first is by applying through business hackathon, where IBM Design Thinking methodology and Bluemix (an app building platform) will be used, whilst the second is by applying to a Public Tender. We are hereby inviting all those interested to apply by 5 September 2016 through forms available at http://startupfactory.tehnopark.hr.
5 to 10 development teams or start-up companies that qualify for entering the programme will be allocated non-refundable funds worth up to HRK 150,000 per team, as well as infrastructure and consultancy support, training, and mentorship.