SERBIA VENTURES PROGRAM

The program is designed to incentivize private investors, high net worth individuals and institutions to engage in financing startups with high growth potential by incorporating venture capital funds in Serbia.

Serbia Ventures

The program is designed to incentivize private investors, high net worth individuals and institutions to engage in financing startups with high growth potential by incorporating venture capital funds in Serbia. Through this program, the Innovation Fund will invest into newly established venture capital funds in Serbia in the role of a limited partner and help these funds generate a significant market impact on Serbia’s innovation ecosystem.

Amount of financing:

  • up to EUR 5,000,000 per each individual venture capital fund, provided the mandatory precondition that the selected VC fund has already raised or has generated commitments from its limited partners/investors to raise at least the same amount of capital within 12 months of achieving its first close

Eligibility criteria:

  • LLCs or joint stock companies duly established in Serbia and incorporated in the SBRA
  • Majority privately owned

The Applicant can only receive the funds after becoming a legal entity registered specifically for managing alternative investment funds (alternative investment fund managing company), and needs to register a VC fund (alternative investment fund) in Serbia and receive the appropriate license in line with the requirements outlined by the Republic of Serbia Securities Commission and other applicable legislative requirements.

Field of science and technology/Industry sector: proposals can originate from any field of science and technology and can belong to any industry sector.

Duration of IF’s investment: not fixed, can generally range between 96 and 144 months and will be directly negotiated between the IF and the Awardee

The documentation to be submitted in the Application:

  • Applicant statement (signed electronically directly on the portal)
  • The business plan, provided in free format in the English language, which should be ideally up to 25 pages A4 and needs to cover:
    • The VC fund’s management team (including profiles, experiences, shareholders, legal/governance structure);
    • Track record of the management team (if any, or a justification of the team’s soft or hard skills and resources which would ensure successful implementation of the proposed VC fund);
    • Market overview and mapping of high potential sectors and/or illustrative deals;
    • Capital allocation strategy (including the fund’s size, relevant investment and divestment time frames, target market segmentation, target sectors, deal flow forecast and demonstration of the ability to scout for and source high quality deals, etc.);
    • Key terms and conditions (including management fee, carried interest, hurdle rate, target IRR, incentives, winding-up, etc.).

At the time of applying for the Program, the Applicant is not required to be licensed by the Republic of Serbia Securities Commission.

Public call: Closed

Applications must be submitted through the Innovation Fund online portal and in English.

Contact: serbiaventures@inovacionifond.rs