For the Western Balkans, a region grappling with economic challenges and striving for a brighter future, the beacon of hope comes in the form of the tech industry and the many different startups emerging in a number of verticals. During the first 8 months of 2023, the region is also seeing a significant wave of innovation and investments that promise to put some of these Western Balkans startups on the global tech map.
From a fitness platform harnessing the power of virtual reality to a recruitment tool designed to match professionals with job opportunities and innovative fintech solutions for banks and legacy financial institutions, the region has seen several startups that are aiming to change the game – and in this article, we take a look at some of the biggest funding rounds that they’ve managed to raise during the year.
Poised to reshape the regional startup ecosystem, Rolla, HireApp, Mily Technologies, HULI, and FinqUp have been active throughout the year in verticals such as fitness and health, recruitment, logistics, conversational AI, fintech, and much more.
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Rolla
Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Stage: Seed
Investors: Mate Rimac (Rimac Group), Hellen’s Rock
Total funding: $8.8M
Founders: Igor Krezic
Vertical: Health and fitness
About: Rolla is a fitness and health platform that helps users track, compete, and have fun while working out in virtual reality.
HireApp
Country: Serbia/US
Stage: Seed
Investors: South Central Ventures
Total funding: $1.5M
Founders: Nemanja Stefanović, Simon Stantic
Vertical: Recruitment and staffing
About: HireApp platform enables matching professionals with available shifts in the hotel and hospitality industry.
Mily Technologies
Country: Serbia
Stage: Pre-seed
Investors: South Central Ventures, Katapult Accelerator
Total funding: €1M
Founders: Miloš Zlatković, Aleksandar Buha
Vertical: Logistics
About: Mily’s platform helps parcel delivery companies analyze their delivery operations.
Read more: How a former refugee from Kosovo built the fastest-growing company in the Western Balkans
HULI
Country: Serbia
Stage: Seed
Total funding: €210K
Founders: Aleksandr Tsepelev
Vertical: Conversational AI
About: HULI is working on technology and chatbots that will feature “human-like intelligence and machine–like precision”.
FinqUp
Country: North Macedonia
Stage: Pre-seed
Investors: Vitosha Venture Partners, angel investors
Total funding: €100K
Founders: Dime Galapchev, Igor Madzov
Vertical: Fintech
About: FinqUp is a fintech startup that offers a suite of products including white-label apps for investment and insurance funds, conversational AI assistants, and specialized tools for tax and accounting professionals.
