The Startup Ecosystem of Slovenia

Slovenia has the most vibrant economy of all the ex-Yugoslavia countries, as it enjoys proximity to both East and West, bordering Austria, Croatia, Hungary, and Italy. The country’s startup ecosystem is supported by active efforts from the public sector to improve regulations and provide entrepreneurs with better conditions for innovation. However, Slovenia is still not living up to its true potential as a small and agile country which can innovate quickly, similar to Estonia and Singapore.
National startup awards and entrepreneurship are encouraged by the Slovenian government, which extensively supports the PODIM conference and other startup events. Slovenia has also made progress in simplifying administrative procedures for foreign investors and entrepreneurs. One public sector agency in the Slovenian startup ecosystem, SPIRIT - Slovenia, supports the ecosystem in areas such as entrepreneurship, internationalization, foreign investments, and technology.
Alongside this public sector support, Slovenian startups have access to various types of funding, including the government-backed Slovene Enterprise Fund and SID Bank. The Slovene Enterprise Fund encourages private funding by doubling the investment of five Slovenian startups annually. International organizations also contribute to the ecosystem with investment funds. The European Investment Fund is one of the most prominent investors with the Slovene Equity Growth Investment Programme (SEGIP).
Slovenia should continue offering entrepreneurs and startups the opportunity to experiment, grow, and expand. The country has many innovation hubs and programs that support startups in their initial phase of development. One notable independent initiative is Startup Slovenia, an open platform of the Slovenian startup ecosystem that supports innovative entrepreneurship. ABC Accelerator is another independent startup support organization in the country with an award-winning program that has accelerated more than 250 startups to date.
Regionally, Slovenia is struggling to defend its status as a startup and economic hub against the growth of startup ecosystems in more populated countries, such as Croatia and Serbia, all of which share a relatively similar language. So far, Slovenia’s startup ecosystem has not moved fast enough to solidify itself as the leading regional hub.
Going forward, we believe Slovenia can form a powerful ecosystem like other small population countries in Europe, such as Estonia and Lithuania, enjoying the ability to move fast and implement revolutionary strategies. The only question is whether the public sector will execute non-traditional development strategies or play it safe and forgo meaningful impact.