Business

Smart Benches Look for Investors at Zagreb Stock Exchange

By 9 October 2016

Another success for young entrepreneur Ivan Mrvoš.

Ivan Mrvoš, inventor of the first smart bench in Europe, will be the first who will try to raise money for his startup through the Zagreb Stock Exchange, reports Index.hr on September 9, 2016.

His startup Include produces benches that can recharge mobile phones and tablets, have an internet hotspot, collect a variety of data such as air quality and noise levels, and are powered by solar panels.

The Zagreb Stock Exchange recently presented a project in cooperation with the Estonian company Funderbeam which will allow crowd funding for startups, and Include will be the first startup in Croatia which will try to raise money in that way. The minimum investment will amount to 100 euros, and additional advantage for investors is that they will be able to trade with shares immediately after the investment is executed.

Ivan Mrvoš could not confirm nor deny this information. “Unfortunately, at the moment I cannot say anything specific”, he said.

The 20-year-old’s company was founded literally in a garage and has since turned into a serious business, which is demonstrated by a contract signed in July this year worth 40 million kuna. He will produce 2,700 smart benches for the Australian company Mtk Renewable Energy.

Funderbeam SEE is a platform for financing start-ups which should enable them easier access to money, as well as to stay in Croatia, said Ivana Gažić, director of the Zagreb Stock Exchange. “Funderbeam SEE wants to enable young companies in early stages of development access to necessary capital through crowd funding. We want for startups to continue operating in an environment in which they were founded and also to be the main drivers of the economy in the decades to come. This innovative model of raising capital will support the development of their entrepreneurial ideas”, said Gažić.

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