evidoria

← Back to browse

Good practice Imported

ZICER Zagreb Innovation Centre — city-backed equity-free startup accelerator

Croatia · Zagreb · See the Croatia profile · See the Zagreb profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 84% 52/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

City of Zagreb's equity-free startup hub (est. 2002): Startup Factory has launched 80+ companies; in 2023 Global Growth gave 6 startups €120,000 in grants. Budget ≈ €1.3 M/year; city contributes €800 K. No equity or fees taken.

80+ companies
Companies launched via Startup Factory since inception (2002–present)
6 startups received €120,000 EUR
Global Growth non-repayable grants awarded (2023)
30,000+ users
DING.jobs users in Croatia (current)
~€800,000 of ~€1.3 million total EUR
Annual budget funded by the City of Zagreb (annual)
ZICER Zagreb Innovation Centre — city-backed equity-free startup accelerator

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
ZICER d.o.o. (Zagreb Innovation Centre Ltd)
Period
2002–present
Region (NUTS)
HR05
Keywords
Startup acceleration / Innovation support

Context

ZICER (Zagreb Innovation Centre) was founded in 2002 by the City of Zagreb as an equity-free, no-fee startup accelerator and innovation hub, employing 27 people and supporting 80+ startups on-site, with an annual budget of roughly €1.3 million of which the city funds approximately €800,000, the remainder from EU project grants.

Objectives

Reduce barriers for early-stage founders through equity-free, fee-free acceleration and innovation support.

Activities

Runs four programmes: Startup Factory (early-stage validation and market entry), Global Growth (internationalisation), Deep Tech (research commercialisation), and Tech Transfer (university spin-offs), across sectors including healthcare AI, employment apps, agri-tech and SaaS.

Results

80+ companies have been launched since inception via Startup Factory. In 2023, Global Growth gave 6 startups €120,000 in non-repayable grants. Portfolio company DING.jobs has reached 30,000+ users in Croatia and is expanding internationally. ZICER is a member of IASP (International Association of Science Parks) and won the 2022 Corporate Vision Small Business Award.

Conclusions

ZICER demonstrates how a mid-sized city (~800,000 inhabitants) can sustain a multi-programme, equity-free innovation hub on a modest public budget, offered as a replicable model for Central and Eastern European capitals with limited VC markets.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — ~€1.3 million annual budget, of which ~€800,000 comes from City of Zagreb funding and the remainder from EU project grants.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Founded 2002, continuously operating for 23+ years as of the source retrieval date.
Staffing & skills
27 employees

Conditions for success

  • Equity-free, fee-free policy across all programmes to reduce barriers for early-stage founders
  • Mixed funding model: city funding (~€800,000) plus EU project grants covering the remainder of the ~€1.3 million budget
  • Membership in the IASP international science-park network

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

Do you run this practice? Claim it — verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

Similar practices you may find useful

★ 91

Tehnopol Startup Incubator (Tallinn)

Estonia

Estonia's largest science park runs a startup incubator and themed accelerators (NATO DIANA, ESA BIC, AI, cyber) that have supported …

★ 91

Amsterdam Impact

Netherlands

4-year social entrepreneurship programme now focused on impact entrepreneurship. Amsterdam Impact strengthens the ecosystem for all companies that simultaneously create …