Three startups from Serbia shortlisted for trip to Helsinki – Third Slush contest held in Belgrade

(The selected teams and the jury) At the third local Slush contest, organized by the Embassy of Finland in Serbia and the Innovation Fund, the shortlisted companies are Mindy (IT), Sunthetic (renewable energy) and Urbigo (green technology). Finnish experts will select a winner among them, which will have a unique opportunity to take part in the Global Impact Accelerator 2017 program and Slush 2017, a conference held in Helsinki in November and December.

The contest involved 19 startups developing ideas in the field of sustainable innovation.

The contest, which took place at the Science Technology Park Belgrade, was opened by Minister of Innovation and Technological Development Nenad Popovic, Ambassador of Finland to Serbia Pertti Ikonen and the director of the Innovation Fund, Ivan Rakonjac.

– Slush 2017 brings together over 17,000 experts from the field of innovation technologies and the world of startups. This is the biggest conference in north Europe providing a great opportunity for Serbia to connect with the global startup ecosystem and investors – Ikonen stated.

Before the contestants presented their ideas, Kasper Suomalainen, Director of Community at Startup Sauna, shared his experience in creating the most successful global startup community with the attendees.

– The creation of a startup community cannot be forced and each country should build its own startup ecosystem, without copying aspects of another system. Serbia should discover a model that suits the country, the knowledge it can implement and, most importantly, the strengths which can set its startup scene from a multitude of others – he said.

The Slush conference, one of the biggest conferences of that kind in Europe, provides startups with an opportunity to present themselves to numerous investors and companies, whereas the Accelerator program provides them with an opportunity to enhance their skills and business ideas.