In H2 2024, investments for the Western Balkans’ startups slowed down.
However, looking back on the first part of the year, 2024 can still be considered a good one for this part of Central Eastern Europe. In 2023, there were a total €9M worth of funding rounds in the Western Balkans, while just the first half of 2024 reached €11.3M.
In first half of 2024, the distribution of funding was far better as well. Top 3 investments came from North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia. In the second half of 2024, Serbian startups secured majority of the funds, with only Gjirafa being an outlier. There is also a growing trend of Russian and Belarusian teams and founders settling in Serbia. We included one such startup on this list, as it has its headquarters in Serbia and a substantial number of Serbian experts on the team.
Despite a slowdown, biggest investments in Western Balkans startups amounted to €29.5M in 2024, exceeding 2023’s total and showcasing a dynamic investment landscape.
This article is part of the CEE funding mapping series. Please feel free to contact us if we missed something: [email protected].
Below, you can find all the funding rounds registered so far in Western Balkans for tech startups in H2 2024:
1. Leanpay (Serbian-founded, Slovenia-based)
Latest round: €10M
Country: Serbia
Stage: Series B
Investors: Black Peak Capital, Catalyst Romania, Lead Ventures, South Central Ventures
Total Funding: €14.7M
Founders: Janko Medja, Misa Zivic, Tilen Zugwitz
Vertical: Fintech
About: Leanpay, founded in 2017, offers a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) lending platform that facilitates point of sale installment loans for consumers across all sales channels. Retailers can integrate the solution both in-store and online. With more than 120,000 users in Slovenia, Romania and Hungary, the company has approved more than €200 million in consumer loans (as of July 2024).
2. Gjirafa
Country: Albania/Kosovo
Stage: Series B, raising its Series C
Investors: U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)
Total Funding: €13M
Founders: Mergim Cahani
Vertical: Ecommerce
About: Gjirafa is an internet company providing e-commerce, video streaming, online marketing, cloud computing, and entertainment production. Its services are now available in Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia, with Montenegro, Serbia and very likely Bulgaria coming within the next two years. Gjirafa has raised nearly $10M in Series A and B from the Czech Rockaway Capital, and prominent digital economy angel investors. Its now in talks for the Series C, and possible IPO.
3. Lupa Technology
Country: Serbia
Stage: Seed
Investors: South Central Ventures and the World Bank/EU Commission
Total funding: €1.7M
Founders: Milan Jankovic and Dorde Nedeljkovic
Vertical: SaaS, Construction and Legal
About: Lupa Technology is a cloud-based SaaS for the construction industry, transforming unstructured data into valuable information. All types of documents, data, and drawings from multiple sources are stored on one platform, allowing users to easily analyze their material’s quality and relevancy. Lupa’s clients include global real estate developers, general contractors, construction law firms, engineering companies, and insurance companies.
4. Bpacks (Serbia-based, Russian-founded)
Country: Headquartered in Serbia, half of the team is from Serbia
Stage: Pre-Seed
Investors: Founders and a small group of private investors
Total funding: €1M
Founders: Mikhail Skalkin (CEO and co-founder), Dr. Nikolay Semenov (R&D lead and co-founder), Lev Bolshakov (co-founder)
Vertical: Clean Tech, Sustainability
About: Bpacks emerged from a vision to leverage industrial byproducts like tree bark to address the growing plastic pollution crisis. Its bark-based packaging reduces reliance on petroleum-based plastics while extending the shelf life of perishables, such as meat, fruits, and vegetables by up to 7 days. The company has partnered with Serbian retailer Gomex, which operates over 300 stores in Southern Europe.
5. Baby Boo
Latest round: €500K
Country: Serbia
Stage: Seed
Investors: Angel investor
Total funding: €1.1M
Founders: Marija Hudolin and Tatjana Pandurov Radovic
Vertical: Cosmetics, Health Tech
About: Baby Boo is a premium brand specializing in natural and organic cosmetics designed specifically for babies and children. Having covered the regional market, Baby Boo started expanding to the European market through strategic cooperation with Notino, and in 2025 they plan entrance to the Chinese market.
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Other highlights
We didn’t add Serbian-American startup Connect The Dots, but they secured funding later in 2024. It is now in its Series A stage, with the latest round coming from TS Ventures, the first Serbian CVC fund. They are not listed mainly because the amount is unavailable; however, Connect the Dots is still essential to note regarding Serbia. Even though its founders are American (Drew Sechrist, Ian Swinson), its development center is in Serbia. Also, this strategic investment strengthens TS Ventures’ position on the global investor map.
In other news, there was one notable M&A. HTEC Group, founded in Belgrade and headquartered in California, has acquired Germany-based eesy-innovation to strengthen its IoT engineering and AI capabilities. This strategic move expands HTEC’s presence in Europe, especially in the DACH region, while enhancing its ability to deliver advanced embedded and IoT solutions for global clients.
