Within the Crowdstream project, International Crowdfunding Conference was organised on December 12th 2018, in Zagreb, Croatia by Zagreb Innovation Centre (ZICER).

Main discussion was related to the possibilities and opportunities of alternative sources of financing: (1) how to obtain financial resources for development and (2) how can startups and other entrepreneurs use the innovative models in this regard. Taking on alternative sources of financing is often considered the best possible solution, but it requires a different engagement, a developed marketing structure and the initial costs necessary to launch the campaign.

Photos: CrowdStream

Crowdfunding is not just a way of collecting financial resources. It is a marketing and social concept through which individuals, teams, associations, entrepreneurs and others interested present their ideas and achieve success.

Following the encouraging introductory words by the director of ZICER Frane Šesnić, the assistant to the head of the City Office for Economy, Energy and Environmental Protection Ivan Ivankovic and the director of the Regional Energy Agency of Northwestern Croatia, Julije Domac, we had the opportunity to hear more about the development of crowdfunding in Croatia. Zoran Rajn from CEDIOR emphasized that crowdfunding in Croatia has been modest since 2011, and since 2017, we have seen a significant growth. He also emphasized that in Croatia we do not have a single law on group financing, but it is regulated through several different legal acts.

Brigitte Hatvan from ConPlusUltra shared the Austrian crowdfunding experience and she emphasized that regardless of the chosen crowdfunding type (donations, equity, reward or landing based campaigns), enthusiasm, energy and strong branding are necessary for success.

Through the presentation of Dragan Kovačević, representative of the Austrian Agency for European Integration and Economic Development (AEI) and Marko Helfrih, assistant director of ZICER, the objectives, results and current pilot actions of the CrowdStream project were presented.

The Conference brought together more than 70 startups, institutions and partners of the CROWDfunding project to mainSTREAM innovation (CrowdStream) project. Experts from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Serbia came to Zagreb to exchange knowledge and good practices.

Project partner meeting and Steering Committee meeting were organised on December 11th 2018, in Zagreb, Croatia by Zagreb Innovation Centre (ZICER).

Photo: CrowdStream

Inspired by the Crowdfunding conference, the CrowdStream partnership prepared for the final stage of project implementation. The partners discussed project status as well as upcoming activities. Each WP lead presented specific WP activities, achieved outputs and deliverables and next steps for the final period.