Vojvodjanska Banka and SEE ICT have teamed up to fund the two largest SEE ICT/Startit centers, one in Belgrade and one in Novi Sad.
The Startit center projects and the cooperation between the bank and SEE ICT are designed to help connect and educate information technology professionals, as well as entrepreneurs in the region, according to a bank press release.
So far, 40 IT startups have been launched through Startit programs. Offering well-equipped Startit centers helps train and retrain many people, resulting in more Serbian IT jobs as well, according to the press release.
“At this point in the labor market of Serbia there is a demand for more than 30,000 qualified IT professionals,” Xenofon Damaskos of the bank’s executive board said in the release. “Local startup companies ensure tens of millions of euros of investments each year. This is really incredible data, clearly showing that domestic IT entrepreneurship is the greatest force of our economy. Thanks to this cooperation, we will support the concept for which we believe can lead to an economic and social progress of the country.”
Vukasin Stojkov, co-founder of SEE ICT/Startit, said in the release that it’s important to work directly with “talented” people.
“In a world where digitalization is reshaping the economy and touching on almost every business and industry we can think of, it is imperative to engage directly with innovators and talented tech people with whom we need to create products and services for a new, digital reality,” Stojkov said.
