Čadež at Web Summit in Lisbon: Serbia Showcases the Power of Innovation and Talent

“Serbia has become a regular participant at the Web Summit in Lisbon, the world’s largest technology conference. This year, we are showcasing around 30 of our startups with their own booths, while the large Serbian delegation includes about 300 innovators, entrepreneurs, and company representatives demonstrating what the Serbian IT and innovation ecosystem can offer,” said Marko Čadež, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (CCIS), at the national stand of Serbia at Web Summit 2025 in Lisbon.

“A great success for Serbia is that as many as four of our startups — MyFlow, Njuppa, Codekido, and FinoApp — have been selected for the prestigious Showcase program. Out of more than 4,000 applicants, fewer than 400 startups are given the opportunity to present in this format, which is an outstanding achievement. This is a huge success — and we’re only getting started. Even greater results are ahead of us,” Čadež emphasized.

He reminded that the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia has been systematically working with the startup community for two years now, helping them prepare for the global market, learn how to collaborate with investors, and turn their validated ideas into major business ventures. “A large number of leading global investors are present here, and our goal is for Serbia and our young people to be at the center of their attention,” he added.

Speaking at the panel discussion “How Innovation and FDI Work in Tandem,” alongside colleagues from Uzbekistan and Qatar, Čadež said that three different success stories from the IT sector were presented. “It is interesting that Uzbekistan exports around 700 million dollars’ worth of software, Qatar — a large country — about one billion, while Serbia, with a population of just six and a half million, records software exports worth more than 4.5 billion dollars. That proves the world recognizes us as a nation of talented and creative people, a place where great innovators come from,” the CCIS President pointed out.

“We don’t talk about problems and frustrations — we solve them! The best proof of that is that Serbia has increased its software exports tenfold over the past decade,” Čadež said, inviting panel participants and Web Summit visitors to visit the Serbia Pavilion, where some of the country’s most promising innovative companies are showcased.

The discussion was moderated by Steve Clemons and featured Vsevolod Lee, Executive Director of the IT Park Uzbekistan for Europe, and Hamad Al-Naemi from the Office of the CEO of the Qatar Investment Authority, alongside Čadež.

“It is essential that we redefine what we truly want and can achieve, and invest in what we already have — a solid education system, a strong scientific base, and the talent that arises from it. Let’s create the conditions for those talents to stay, and attract new ones to come and grow here.  Serbia is increasingly demonstrating how investment and innovation, when acting together, become the driving force of economic growth and the modernization of society,” Čadež said.

He noted that the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia had proposed to the Government, eight years ago, to improve the education system — a move that led to the introduction of programming as a mandatory subject in primary schools. “That step laid the foundation for everything we are doing today in the field of digitalization and innovation,” Čadež said, adding that in 2019 Serbia installed the first state-owned supercomputer optimized for artificial intelligence — at a time when there were only two such computers across Europe. “That was a pioneering move by the Serbian Government — and today we already have two such systems, placing us ahead of many European countries in terms of technological infrastructure,” Čadež emphasized.

From November 10 to 13, Serbian startups are presenting solutions that cover a wide range of fields — from financial and legal technology, education, and healthcare, to smart cities, industry, logistics, digital marketing, sports, and socially beneficial projects.

At the Serbia stand, under the slogan “Think Tech, Choose Serbia”, the following companies are exhibiting: Canandi, GetTrusty, MyFlow, NSage.ai, GuideLites (Lites), Peasy, GetData (Apparo), DigitalLeather, FinoApp, Tridan AI, Kampster AI, SpiceAds, Qreadible (ible), Veritium, Cloud City, Codekido, Includify, KleverCargo, Smart Part, NutriMedik, HealthControl Niš, CyberParent, Motiqum, Nais Robotics, and Njuppa.

Photo and video: Boban Ristić