In accordance with the ratified Loan Agreement (Serbia Accelerating Innovation and Growth Entrepreneurship Project), No. 9029-YF, concluded between the Republic of Serbia and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) (Official Gazette of RS – International Agreements, No. 3/20), the Additional Financing Loan Agreement No. 97230-YF, and the Grant Agreement No. TF C1389-YF concluded between the Republic of Serbia and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development,
The Innovation Fund
Publishes
Public Call for the Katalitik Co-investment Grant Program
The goal of the Program is to enhance innovative entrepreneurship in the field of artificial intelligence by improving access to finance, supporting growth and market readiness of domestic tech companies, and creating conditions to attract private investments.
The program is intended to support Serbian companies that have developed proprietary, scalable AI-based solutions. Through a co-investment mechanism leveraging private investments raised by the company, the program stimulates growth, market readiness, and investment potential of AI companies, thereby strengthening Serbia’s innovation ecosystem.
Program support includes:
- Co-investment grant matches investments with up to EUR 200,000 per company. It is disbursed in 2 to 3 quarterly tranches over a period of 6 to 9 months, subject to a secured private investment of at least EUR 50,000 (that is matched with the same amount of a grant). The grant is disbursed upon signing the investment agreement and proof of completed investment transaction.
- Mentoring support provided by local and international experts to help selected companies integrate and develop AI technology, refine their business models, develop go-to-market strategies, define and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and other aspects of business scaling and growth.
Eligible applicants are registered micro and small companies in Serbia (registered as LLCs), with at least 80% private ownership, majority owned (>50%) by the founding entrepreneurs, not older than ten (10) years at the time of submitting the application, with no more than EUR 8 million in revenue in any of the previous two years, and with significant presence in Serbia.
To be considered and evaluated, applications must be submitted electronically via the online portal. Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Team Competence
- Scalability Potential
- AI Innovation
- Market Impact
- Investment Structure
Only applications that meet the above criteria will be considered and potentially proposed for funding. Additional details regarding the evaluation procedures are available in the Program Manual published on the Fund’s website under program documentation.
The call is open continuously until June 2027 or until the budget is fully allocated, with evaluations conducted approximately every quarter.
Incomplete applications, as well as those submitted after the deadline, will not be considered.
Please use the following application link.
For more information, please 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.