A month into 2023, the tech startup event calendar starts filling up. Whether you’re looking to launch a new business, fundraise, or simply learn, grow, and connect, get ready to network with like-minded individuals at some of the most exciting tech and startup events in 2023 in the CEE region.
From conferences and trade shows to pitch competitions and workshops, 2023 brings a new wave of opportunities for entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators to come together and drive change.
The Recursive has created a list of the major startup events happening in the CEE region, focusing on the value each event can bring to your business.
Calendar 2023: Events in the CEE region for your startup
| Event name | Date | Location |
| sTARTUp Day | March 15-17 | Tartu, Estonia |
| TechChill | April 26-28 | Riga, Latvia |
| Present to Succeed | April 28 | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Impact’23 CEE | May 10-11 | Poznan, Poland |
| TMRW Conference | May 12-14 | Belgrade, Serbia |
| PODIM | May 15-17 | Maribor, Slovenia |
| Digitalk Conference | May 18 | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Bucharest Tech Week | May 22-28 | Bucharest, Romania |
| Wolves Summit | May 23-25 | Wroclaw, Poland |
| Latitude59 | May 24-26 | Tallinn, Estonia |
| Techsylvania | June 7-8 | Cluj-Napoca, Romania |
| Perspektywy Women in Tech Summit | June 14-15 | Warsaw, Poland |
| Webit Summer Edition | June 28-29 | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Startup Fair | September 7 | Vilnius, Lithuania |
| Infobip Shift Conference | September 18-19 | Zadar, Croatia |
| How to Web | October 4-5 | Bucharest, Romania |
| Disraptors | TBD (expected October) | Prague, Czech Republic |
| Untold Stories Conference | TBD (expected November) | Budapest, Hungary |
The most prominent CEE tech and startup events in 2023
Bulgaria
Present to Succeed
Date: April 28, 2023
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
Why attend: With over 5000 attendees, Present to Succeed is an event exclusively focused on presentation and communication skills. Boosting startup teams’ presentation skills and networking, the event brings together an international community of leading experts in the field to help individuals and teams advance their skills. Organized since 2021, the Present to Succeed is going to host professionals such as Stefan Verra and Katya Kovalenko.
Digitalk Conference
Date: May 18, 2023
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
Why attend: Digitalk Conference offers startups networking and focuses on the latest digital transformation trends connecting regional innovators with the international tech community. For the 2023 conference, the organizers focus on topics including purpose-driven investments, the rise of climate tech, deep tech, AI, the new cycle of VC investments, and how startups build resilience in an economic downturn.
Webit Summer Edition
Date: June 28-29, 2023
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
Why attend: Active for more than 12 years, Webit gathers thousands of tech enthusiasts yearly to help startups with fundraising, networking, and lead generation. Their worldwide events were organized from Sofia, Istanbul through Dubai and New Delhi to Singapore. Their tech festivals have over 15 000 in-person attendees and 100 000+ virtual attendees from 190+ countries. Webit’s finale hosts the Founders Games Finals, where a selected group of founders compete for a funding award of $6M.
Croatia
Infobip Shift Conference
Date: September 18-19, 2023
Location: Zadar, Croatia
Why attend: Infobip Shift is the largest developer conference in the SEE region, attracting the world’s leading experts in the field. Offering networking and lead generation, the hybrid event features the latest software trends and promotes learning and new connections. The organizers plan to gather over 3000 international attendees for its 10th anniversary this year. Moreover, the event expands to the US and will be held in Miami for the first time in May 2023.
Czech Republic
Disraptors
Date: TBD (expected October)
Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Why attend: Formerly known as the SWC Summit, Disraptors Summit is one of the CEE region’s major tech and startup events, bringing founders opportunities of raising funds, networking, and lead generation. In partnership with the Startup World Cup, the event holds the European Startup Championship finale, where the most promising startups compete for the title, the possibility of a $500K investment, and a spot at the Global Finale in Silicon Valley. The summit hosted in the past experts and speakers, including Steve Wozniak.
Estonia
sTARTUp Day
Date: March 15-17, 2023
Location: Tartu, Estonia
Why attend: The business festival sTARTUp Day, organized in the rising entrepreneurial city of Tartu, will attract over 4000 innovators and 150 world-class speakers this year. Promoting startups’ fundraising opportunities, networking, lead generation, the event’s goal is to connect tech and startup enthusiasts and professionals. The event will present, among others, several pitching competitions, hands-on seminars, and educational programs.
Latitude59
Date: May 24-26, 2023
Location: Tallinn, Estonia
Why attend: The flagship startup and tech event of e-Estonia, Latitude59, gathers together over 3000 attendees with 800+ startups and 400+ investors and helps innovative teams with fundraising, networking, lead generation. Connecting the Baltic region with an international community of innovators, Latitude59 brings startups the opportunity to showcase their solutions and compete in the L59 Pitch Competition for a prize of €1M.
Hungary
Untold Stories Conference
Date: TBD (expected November)
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Why attend: Annual event Untold Stories Conference focuses on the CEE region and connections between founders, tech professionals, and VCs to connect with potential customers and investors. Attended by over 800 innovators, the event aims to create learning and networking opportunities for startups, including pitching lightning rounds to gain focused feedback.
Latvia
TechChill
Date: April 27-28, 2023
Location: Riga, Latvia
Why attend: TechChill Riga is one of the major startup events in 2023 in the Baltic region, bridging the gap between knowledge, network, and skills. Helping with fundraising, networking, and lead generation, the conference brings together 2300+ attendees, over 300 fastest-growing startups, and 200 investors and offers founders the opportunity to compete in pitch battles. Last year, the event expanded to Southern Europe, organizing its first event in Milan, Italy.
Lithuania
Startup Fair
Date: September 7, 2023
Location: Vilnius, Lithuania
Why attend: Startup Fair makes its mark as the biggest startup event in Lithuania, hosting 1500+ attendees and 200+ startups. The event presents local and international speakers, holds a startup pitching battle, and creates a global connection to the Lithuanian innovation community. Moreover, Startup Fair provides attending startups with fundraising, networking, and lead generation opportunities.
Poland
Impact’23 CEE
Date: May 10-11, 2023
Location: Poznan, Poland
Why attend: One of the leading economic and tech events, Impact’23, gathers managers, policymakers, regulators, scientists, and experts to network and discuss ongoing and future social and economic changes. The event offers over 500 speakers, 21 thematic tracks, 200+ presentations, and workshops exploring opportunities for creating a global digital future. This year, the event’s top speaker will be the actress Natalie Portman.
Wolves Summit
Date: May 23-25, 2023
Location: Wroclaw, Poland
Why attend: Since 2015, Wolves Summit has been connecting angel investors, VCs, corporations, and the most promising startups in the CEE region, creating extensive fundraising, networking, and lead generation opportunities. Their flagship tech festival in Wroclaw attracts over 2500 participants every year, bringing founders the opportunity to, among others, compete in a pitching competition for various prizes. In 2023, Wolves Summit is also organizing the Alpha Wolves event in London for growth-stage startups and a more intimate event, Wolves Summit Vienna.
Perspektywy Women in Tech Summit
Date: June 14-15, 2023
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Why attend: Perspektywy Women in Tech Summit is the first such event in CEE and Central Asia regions addressed to female IT students and professionals. In 2022, the event brought together over 10 000 participants from over 80 countries. The upcoming hybrid Warsaw Summit will discuss women’s contribution to technology’s future and its social impact, focusing on networking and topics such as metaverse, deep tech, AI, cybersecurity, sustainable leadership, and others.
Romania
Bucharest Tech Week
Date: May 22-28, 2023
Location: Bucharest, Romania
Why attend: The largest urban tech festival in Romania, Bucharest Tech Week, yearly reunites tech enthusiasts and leaders for one week of gatherings around the city. With 1500+ expected business professionals attending the event, Bucharest Tech Week represents a networking and lead generation platform where experts, founders, and other tech enthusiasts looking for individual or business growth can connect.
Techsylvania
Date: June 7-8, 2023
Location: Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Why attend: Techsylvania is an annual technology conference that aims to bring together the tech community from all over the world to share ideas, network, and learn about the latest advancements in the tech industry. The event’s program includes keynote speeches, panel discussions, workshops, pitch competitions, and more. With over 5000 participants, attendees can expect to hear from leading experts in the field and connect with some of the most promising startups and investors. Additionally, startups are presented with valuable connections for fundraising, networking, and lead generation.
How to Web 2023
Date: October 4-5, 2023
Location: Bucharest, Romania
Why attend: As a leading Eastern European conference on entrepreneurship and innovation, How to Web is the meeting point for founders, investors, and tech executives to network and boost their lead generation. In 2022, the event hosted more than 2000 attendees and 200+ startups. How to Web features a lineup of expert speakers who share their knowledge and insights on a wide range of web development, design, and entrepreneurship topics.
Serbia
TMRW Conference
Date: May 12-14, 2023
Location: Belgrade, Serbia
Why attend: TMRW Conference is the most prominent emerging tech event in Europe that brings together 40.000+ attendees and 100+ speakers to focus on the latest trends in AI, blockchain, metaverse, and gaming. The Belgrade edition expects to host more than 6000 attendees and 500 investors. The event offers startups from the web3 world extensive opportunities to connect with potential customers and investors and showcase their solutions.
Slovenia
PODIM
Date: May 15-17, 2023
Location: Maribor, Slovenia
Why attend: PODIM Conference marks its way as one of the leading startup and tech events in the Alps-Adriatic and Western Balkans regions. The hybrid event offers selected startup founders an opportunity to pitch their solutions in front of investors at the Podim Pitching Competition for a prize, discuss their fundraising, connect with potential customers, and get valuable mentoring opportunities from 80+ experienced speakers and mentors.
Other European startup events in 2023
Outside of the CEE region, we bring you additional 20+ startup events in 2023 you should keep an eye on. See the full list below.
| Event name | Date | Location |
| 4YFN | February 27 – March 3 | Barcelona, Spain |
| Alpha Wolves | March 8-9 | London, UK |
| Hello Tomorrow Global Summit 2023 | March 9-10 | Paris, France |
| START Summit | March 23-24 | St. Gallen, Switzerland |
| TNW Valencia | March 30-31 | Valencia, Spain |
| EU-Startup Summit | April 20-21 | Barcelona, Spain |
| Tech.eu Summit 2023 | May 24 | Brussels, Belgium |
| ViennaUP’23 | May 30 – June 7 | Vienna, Austria |
| Dublin Tech Summit | May 31 – June 1 | Dublin, Ireland |
| Arctic15 Helsinki | June 1-2 | Helsinki, Finland |
| South Summit Madrid | June 7-9 | Madrid, Spain |
| London Tech Week | June 12-16 | London, UK |
| Hinterland of Things | June 14 | Mittelstand, Germany |
| Viva Technology | June 14-17 | Paris, France |
| TNW Conference | June 15-16 | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| We Make Future | June 15-17 | Rimini, Italy |
| Bits & Pretzels HealthTech | June 20-21 | Munich, Germany |
| PIRATE Summit | TBD | Cologne, Germany |
| hub.berlin | June 28-29 | Berlin, Germany |
| SHIFT Business Festival | August 23-24 | Turku, Finland |
| TechBBQ | September 13-14 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Bits & Pretzels | September 24-26 | Munich, Germany |
| Oslo Innovation Week | September 25-29 | Oslo, Norway |
| TechChill Milano | TBD | Milano, Italy |
| Sifted Summit | October 4-5 | London, UK |
| World Summit AI | October 11-12 | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Web Summit 2023 | November 13-16 | Lisbon, Portugal |
| Slush 2023 | November 10 – December 1 | Helsinki, Finland |
| NOAH Conference | December 4-5 | Zurich, Switzerland |
