The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) opened its first Community Hub in Belgrade, which will serve as a new central point for gathering and connecting science, business and innovators in Serbia. The aim of the EIT Community Hub is to bring closer to citizens the opportunities that the European Union provides for startup development, support to enterprises and the marketing of new innovative products and services, and it will have its first public presentation at the BioTech Future Forum.
EIT consists of nine so-called Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), unique across the entire EU and our region, covering globally relevant themes such as climate change, digitalisation, food & agriculture, health, energy, manufacturing, raw materials, urban mobility, and culture & creative industries. In order for the activities and impact of each “community” to be more visible, hubs are being opened in individual countries, which serve as the single contact point for all KICs and their programmes.
Each community has its own set of programmes, which is why it is recommended that everyone regularly monitors the website and write to the email address serbia@eitcommunity.eu for all information and further support.
The contact point for the Hub in Serbia will be the team of NALED, which will have the key role in informing about EIT programmes and opportunities, connecting local researchers, startups, universities and entrepreneurs with relevant partners in Europe, and providing mentoring support for applying to EIT calls.
“We are grateful to EIT for the confidence to take on such an important task and for recognising our previous work in the field of innovation. Our cooperation began in 2024 with the launch of the EIT Food community in Belgrade, within which we have already connected domestic innovators with relevant programmes. The EIT Hub in Serbia will be a practical point of support for all interested – from researchers and startups to SMEs and universities. Our task will be to inform them about available EIT programmes and calls, help with applications, connect them with European partners and mentors, and through trainings, info-days and networking events help in the development of new ideas and market solutions. Through this approach, the Hub will contribute to better connected and more competitive Serbian innovators in the European market,” said Violeta Jovanović, Executive Director of NALED.
As the largest innovation network in Europe, EIT has so far directly supported more than 9,900 businesses across Europe, launched about 2,450 new products to market and trained 880,000 participants in new skills. Thanks to early business development support, companies and startups supported by EIT today are valued at more than €72 billion. Because of all this, EIT is now recognised as one of the most successful and active European investors and incubators.
