Companies in Serbia will be able to benefit from €20 million in grant funding from the Innovation Fund of Serbia. The funds will be available for use in developing innovative technologies, products and services with market application and potential for commercialisation. The funds will be provided as part of the Increased Innovation Capacity and Technological Readiness of SMEs project , funded by the government of Serbia and the European Union through its Pre-accession Assistance for 2018 (IPA 2018) programme. Companies will be able to apply for grants for the development of innovations through the mini grants programme, matching grants programme and collaborative grant scheme programme.

The first public call, worth €9 million, is open until 15 September 2021, and project applications from all areas of science and technology and all industrial sectors are eligible to apply through the Innovation Fund portal. The next public call for applications to funding programmes is expected at the end of November 2021.

From its inception, the support of the European Union through the Innovation Fund programmes has given a crucial stimulus to the financing of innovations in Serbia and the strengthening of ties between the research and private sectors.