First Serbian Fund for Investments in Startups on Verge of First Unicorn

The first Serbian fund for investing in startups in on the verge of the first unicorn, as revealed by Davor Sakac, the director of TS Ventures fund, in an interview for Blic Biznis.

According to him, a work-changing solution is being sought, but in addition to that, ideas which can “work” in the market and with investors are artificial intelligence or the automation of business processes.

– I can say that our startup scene is very mature and that I believe that we are on the verge of having the first unicorn. Why is it so important for this unicorn to “happen”? When you reach such a valuable investment, the market becomes different, both internally (the local, regional scene) and externally (the global market), whereby we will show that Serbia has a global perspective and the possibility of international expansion, and networking on a global level and establishing partnerships is crucial. A good example is Estonia and Skype, which was their first unicorn in 2005, and which was sold to eBay for an incredible USD 2.6 billion – that was the beginning of a new development phase of the Estonian economy, which is currently the most advanced IT country in Europe, because the money has been used for the development of new ideas and business solutions and it was simply the moment when everything began – they currently have ten unicorns, and they are a country that is 6 times smaller than Serbia – Sakac said.

Let us remind that Telekom Srbija has launched the biggest venture fund in Serbia for helping startup ideas, which will also be the biggest fund of its kind in the region.

Venture funds estimate whether a company with a good business idea has a chance, innovative and entrepreneurial potential and business perspectives to develop, grow and become competitive and thereby bring high yields on the invested capital.

If an estimate is positive, the fund invests in the company, thereby gaining a stake, that is, shares, and with that also ownership and managing rights and income on that basis. The venture capital fund thereby also takes on all the risks of the business success, or lack thereof, of the company in which it invests.