Search for...

How Two Unicorns Pushed Croatia ahead of China in GDP Share

Croatia map
Image credit: Canva
~

Today, we will explore a place nestled along the Adriatic coast, a center for progress and technological advancements, birthplace of the renowned engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla.

In recent times, Croatia is a contemporary innovation hub, having an important place in the CEE ecosystem. Want to know how? Read below just a couple of key highlights, shaping the startup landscape.

 

Overview and Highlights

 

The country’s startup tech ecosystem has been growing and developing since the past couple of years. Despite its relatively small population, the country has one of the most developed IT industries in the region. 

Croatia has positioned itself on a 48th place in the startup scene worldwide. Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, is evolving into a regional hub for startup activities. The Zagreb Innovation Center (ZICER) is a startup hub, supporting over 100 tech companies. Through assistance from the City of Zagreb, these startups receive support in infrastructure, research, sponsorship, promotion, and financing.

 

Important Milestones

 

Croatia ranks 11th in the world for unicorns, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization. In 2020, Infobip achieved billionaire valuation when it raised $200M from New York-based private equity firm One Equity Partners, making history by becoming the first Croatian unicorn. 

Later on, in 2022, Croatia welcomed a new unicorn – the automotive company Rimac Automobili, after raising a €500M Series D round.

An impressive fact is that the valuation of Infobip and Rimac Automobili together makes up 4.1% of Croatia’s national GDP. For comparison, Croatia is one place ahead of China, where unicorns contribute 3.8% to its GDP. 

Moreover, Infobip has played a key role in this development by aiding local startups through its Infobip Startup Tribe, initiated in 2021. This program offers growth tools, credit opportunities, and networking support.

Another successful company, Croatian-based math app Photomath, has been acquired by Google, marking it as one of the biggest deals in the region, valued at €500M. 

Read more:  6 Positive AI Visions for the Future of Work

 

The Broader Context

 

A recent report by Dealroom, highlights significant growth in Croatia’s startup sector over the last five years. Since 2019, the collective enterprise worth of the country’s tech startups has increased by 7.4 times, outpacing the growth rates of similar tech centers in the region such as Poland (2.4 times) and Estonia (1.8 times). The overall European growth stands at 2.1 times.

 

Educational Powerhouse

 

Croatia is becoming a more attractive location for international students. The University of Zagreb, Croatia’s largest university, is the second largest educational institute in Southeast Europe. 

Croatia also launched an e-Schools project pilot in 2015, offering 150 schools with technological equipment and supporting resources. 

Tags:

Help us grow the emerging innovation hubs in Central and Eastern Europe

Every single contribution of yours helps us guarantee our independence and sustainable future. With your financial support, we can keep on providing constructive reporting on the developments in the region, give even more global visibility to our ecosystem, and educate the next generation of innovation journalists and content creators.

Find out more about how your donation could help us shape the story of the CEE entrepreneurial ecosystem!

One-time donation

You can also support The Recursive’s mission with a pick-any-amount, one-time donation. 👍

https://therecursive.com/author/teodoraatanasova/

Teodora Atanasova is a News Editor at The Recursive. She covers everything around funding rounds, exits, startups expanding to international markets, big tech opening R&D in CEE, meaningful for the ecosystem partnerships.