APPLICATIONS FOR ZAGREB CONNECT STARTUP COMPETITION ARE OFFICIALLY OPENED!

Zagreb Connect is a great opportunity for startups to present themselves to business angels, and the best teams will have the opportunity to present their ideas on a conference in front of 400 business angels and investors. Award fund of the competition is 50 000 euros, and participation in the finals also includes mentorship by some of the most respected entrepreneurs and business angels.

EBAN Winter University 2016, the biggest European conference of business angels which is taking place in Zagreb on 29 and 30 November 2016, will become central place of gathering for all entrepreneurs, business angels and startup enthusiasts from all parts of Europe and world. Two days of conference include lectures, panels and presentations, opportunities for networking and insights in the latest trends on the market, all given by some of the biggest professionals in startup industry

Infallible part of the conference is a startup competition Zagreb Connect which will allow applicants to be recognized on a global level. Application is made through form on a website, and all who are interested have time to apply until 1 September 2016.

„We are extremely proud that we managed to bring this conference in our country. All who work in Croatia are aware of the challenges which this country brings, so this conference is designed as an exchange of experiences that will contribute to successful development of our ecosystem“ said Davorin Štetner, CEO of CRANE. Talking about the Zagreb Connect he emphasized that the competition is opened for startups from all over the world, and that both EBAN conference and competition will serve as the real incentive for startup community in the future.

Special strength to this conference is given by its partners – HAMAG BICRO agency and Israelian embassy, which enable conference to spread out of the European borders. Also, Israelian embassy will enrich EBAN 2016 with three highly ranked speakers which will be involved in the activities of the conference as well as mentoring finalists of Zagreb Connect.

Ambassador of Israel in Croatia Her Excellency Zina Kalay Kleitman said that „Embassy of Israel participates in this project for the third year in a row, and the reason for that is that Izrael is the country number 1 in this field. Our startups are being sold for great amounts  which bring a lot of income to the country.“ Talking about incoming EBAN Winter University conference she added „For this conference we are bringing three experts in this field – one that has a startup, one representative of governmental body that deals with maintenance of startups, and one business angel. Our experts come with a goal of sharing their experiences with participants.“

Every team registered on Zagreb Connect will be presented in an official database of the conference which will later be distributed to business angels all over the world, and the best 20 of them will present their ideas in front of 1700 participants and 400 business angels and investors. Award fund is 50 000 euros, and participation in the finals includes mentorship by respected entrepreneurs and business angels.

Day before the conference, 28. November bootcamp for finalists will take place, where participants will have intense workshops and a chance to perfect their pitch for the conference.

Milan Bandić, mayor of Zagreb emphasized that EBAN Winter University conference will launch competition Zagreb Connect on a higher level, and that will positively effect the startup community. „Apart from significance that competition and conference have for startup community, strengthening this community is of great importance for the City of Zagreb because it directly affects employment and self employment rate in the city. And on this parameter, City of Zagreb can really commend with the statistics that puts it side by side with other world metropolis.“

Form for application as well as all the other information about competition Zagreb Connect can be found on official website of conference http://ebanwu2016.com/ . The deadline for application of teams is 1. September 2016.