Innovation Fund Presented Financing Programs to FIC Members
17. July 2012
The Foreign Investors Council organized jointly with Innovation Fund, presentation on financing programs for innovations that was held on Thursday, July 12th at Palace Serbia. At the event, interested companies were informed about the Mini Grants and Matching Grants Programs implemented under the Innovation Serbia Project. The event gathered around 30 individuals representing about 20 FIC member companies who had the opportunity to find out more about the possibilities that the Innovation Fund provides for companies that want to launch new R&D projects.
Ljiljana Kundakovic, Interim Managing Director of the Innovation Fund stated that the Fund's main goal is to support as many innovative companies in Serbia as possible, to stimulate private sector R&D, but also to secure further, mainly private, sources of financing for technology based companies in the country. She invited all the attendees to submit applications under the financing programs implemented by the Fund and concluded that there is a strong linkage between innovation and export in the context of competitive technologies and products with higher market potential.
Georg Grassl, member of the Board of the Foreign Investors Council and General Manger of Henkel Serbia, shortly presented the association and emphasized the commitment of FIC and its members to act as a reliable long-lasting partner in building sustainable and competitive market in Serbia. In addition to bringing investments, FIC members have also brought new business models - corporate governance, new technologies as well as potential for R&D. In their activities, FIC and its members collaborate with educational institutions in order to share experiences and support modernization of curriculums and creation of a quality workforce in this market. FIC representatives are active members of the National Council for Science and Technological Development.
Katarina Petrovic, Program Manager for International Cooperation and Financing presented the details of the Mini Grants and Matching Grants Programs.
Both programs are implemented under the Innovation Serbia Project, financed by a 8.4 million Euro donation from the EU's pre-accession funds and administered by the World Bank. The goals of the project are the build Serbia's capacity in supporting private sector innovation, to implement financing instruments that target innovative companies and to provide technical assistance for technology transfer and commercialization to the selected research and development institutes in Serbia. More information is available at www.inovacionifond.rs and www.innovationfund.rs , while Innovation Fund's presentation can be downloaded bellow.
Innovation Fund Presentation.pdf [ pdf 1,5MB ]
27. April 2013