The Katalitik co-investment grant program of the Innovation Fund (IF) is an AI‐focused co‐investment and mentoring program designed to empower Serbian companies that have developed proprietary, scalable AI solutions. By co-investment grant funding with private equity investments, the program catalyses growth, market readiness and investor appeal for AI‐driven enterprises, thereby strengthening Serbia’s innovation ecosystem.
The objective of this program is to improve innovative entrepreneurship and access to finance for AI-driven enterprises growth, as a way of contributing to Serbia’s growth and competitiveness.
Co-investment grant: The co-investment grant provides up to EUR 200,000 per company, disbursed in two or three equal quarterly tranches over a period of 6 to 9 months. To be qualified, companies must secure a private equity investment that matches the grant on a 1:1 basis, with a minimum total investment round of EUR 50,000. Grant disbursement is contingent upon submission of evidence of a signed investment agreement and confirmation that the investment transaction has been completed. Each subsequent tranche is released based on progress and financial reports approved by the assigned mentor and the IF.
Mentoring support: All Awardees will have assigned mentor through the matchmaking process upon evaluation process and officially approved company for financing. The assigned mentor will provide tailored guidance on topics such as: AI integration and technical development, business model refinement and go-to-market strategies, KPI definition and progress monitoring etc.
Eligibility criteria for applicants:
- Serbian‐registered micro or small company (≥ 80% privately owned in LLC form);
- Majority (> 50%) owned by the founding team of entrepreneurs;
- Not older than 10 years at the time of submitting the application;
- No more than EUR 1 M total equity raised;
- Received no more than EUR 1 M from the Innovation Fund (including this program);
- Not listed on the stock exchange;
- Less than EUR 8,000,000 in revenues in any of the prior two years;
- Not concurrently involved in other IF programs whether the involvement concerns a submitted, under evaluation, approved, or ongoing project/contract (excluding GovTech, ExpoTech and Innovation Voucher program);
- Founders do not control a company with an ongoing IF project or controls multiple companies applying under IF programs.
- Not applied more than twice with substantially same application on this program.
Investors: Eligible investors include angel investors, VC/PE funds, family offices and corporates, subject to IF due diligence.
All investors need to register on this registration link. It is not possible for the applicant to submit a registration application on behalf of the investor – it must be done by the investors committed to the investment rounds.
Target groups: Serbian companies whose AI solutions have reached at least prototype stage and demonstrate clear potential to drive business growth beyond off-the-shelf solutions.
Required documentation: The complete set of the necessary documentation is available on the Innovation Fund’s website.
Application: through online portal HERE.
Applicants have to submit a business and AI solutions description together with signed term sheet/investment agreement via the online portal.
Public call: Open continuously until June 2027, or until the EUR 7.4 million budget is fully allocated, with evaluation cut-offs every 3 – 4 months.
Contact: katalitik@inovacionifond.rs
Financing for the Katalitik Co-Investment Grant Program is provided by the Republic of Serbia (Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation), through a World Bank loan and implementation support by both the World Bank and the European Union. The program is part of the “Serbia Accelerating Innovation and Growth Entrepreneurship Project,” dedicated to strengthening innovative entrepreneurship and scientific research.