The Innovation Fund and Microsoft have signed the Memorandum of Understanding within the Katapult acceleration program. As of today, Katapult community startups have access to Microsoft services with the goal to manage sales and customer relations better on a global scale.
The Memorandum of Understanding defines the directions and scope of future cooperation aimed at strengthening and supporting the startup community in Serbia. Given the same goal, which includes various forms and instruments of support, the plan of the signatories is to combine their experiences and resources in the coming period with the intention to strengthen the Serbian startup scene.
“We are very glad that Microsoft has recognized the potential of our companies and wants to help build their paths to success. Our cooperation will be based on the same purpose – the accelerated development of the startup digital ecosystem, which is becoming one of the most important factors in the Serbian economy,” said Ivan Rakonjac, director of the Innovation Fund, on the occasion of signing of the Memorandum.
Milan Gospić, Director of Microsoft in Serbia, said that he was delighted by the focus and the level of investment in the startup and innovation segment in the past two years because, as he says, we are getting closer to the first Serbian Unicorn on the world market (Unicorn – a startup label worth over one billion dollars).
“Microsoft is always there to support the startup community because it is a direct investment in digitalization that has a strong impact on the overall development of a country. Through this cooperation, we want to strategically strengthen innovation, offer full technical and advisory support, networking and connectivity opportunities, and chances to build or improve your business and sell your solution using Microsoft channels and market entry services,” pointed out Gospić.
Katapult accelerator relies on the best world practice and offers startups non-refundable funding and mentoring support. Through this program, the Fund wants to provide support to young teams that have their own products to take their business to the next level, and thus, increase their value for investors.
In addition to the direct support offered by the Accelerator, young teams also have specific services provided by the Microsoft StartUps program to position themselves quickly in the global market and achieve their goals.