Innovation Fund of Montenegro — National Grant Financing for Startups and SME Innovation

The Innovation Fund of Montenegro (Fond za inovacije Crne Gore) was established under Montenegro's Law on Innovation Activities, adopted in July 2020, and began operating in September 2021 as a national public institution under the Government of Montenegro, with capacity-building support from UNDP funded by Norway since 2018.

Finance SME and startup innovation through a growing set of grant programmes evaluated by international expert panels, as part of Montenegro's wider innovation-incentive push.

The Fund runs grant programmes including SME Innovativeness, Proof of Concept, Early-Stage Startups and Innovation Vouchers. Applications are reviewed by international expert panels; in 2025, 119 experts from more than 30 countries reviewed 470 applications requesting over €18 million. A separate 2020 COVID-response economic package allocated close to €30 million over 2020-2024 for innovation incentives, including startup tax exemptions.

Since inception the Fund has financed 278 projects across 10 programmes and 23 public calls, totalling €12.2 million awarded. In 2025 alone it supported 109 projects across 6 programmes with €4,137,429.35 awarded.

The Fund's track record is short — under five years of real operation — and its annual budget (a few million euros) is modest relative to regional peers. The European Commission's 2025 Enlargement Package assessment notes the Fund 'has become important for support' but that Montenegro's overall R&D data remain 'challenging to monitor', an honest limitation on verifying impact beyond the Fund's own reporting.