March the 18th, 2023 - The Algebra LAB gathered together some of the most well renowned representatives of the entrepreneurial and scientific community in the jury that evaluates the best student digital projects in the financial and insurance industries.

A sustainable fourth pension pillar through the use of the first Croatian green currency, payment by fingerprint, Tinder for investors, a biometric bracelet as insurance against deepfake – and other disruptive ideas could be heard by visitors of the Money Motion Student Hackathon, a unique event held at the Spark Event Spaces premises , at the Algebra campus in Zagreb, organized by the Algebra LAB.

The student hacking competition was held as part of Money Motion, the largest fintech conference in Croatia, which gathered as many as 700 participants. The decision on the best project was made by an expert jury consisting of entrepreneurs, members of the scientific community and professionals from the financial and insurance industries, whose members are: Hrvoje Josip Balen, member of the Algebra Board; Gordan Kožulj, director of the business consulting department, Deloitte Croatia; Ivana Vukov, special adviser to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia; Zvonimir Oreč, CFO and member of the Management Board, Amodo; Robert Penezić, General Manager, Monri; Prof. Ph.D.Sc. Mislav Ante Omazić, EFZG; Renata Brkić, Managing Partner, Feelsgood Capital; Goran Kralj, member of the Management Board of PBZCroatia Osiguranje; Marijana Bačić, member of the Management Board and chief operating officer for business customers, Hrvatski Telekom; Ivan Šimić, Senior Manager, PwC SEE Consulting; Relja Marković, Managing Director, Digital Transformation, Addiko Bank and Ph.D. Mirko Talajić, Director of Analytical Systems Support Directorate and CDO, Hrvatska poštanska banka.

"With competitions like this one, we try to strengthen the relationship between education and the labor market and show our students how to develop an entrepreneurial mindset already during their studies. In today's time of rapid changes, it is young people who are the source of information and new knowledge about digital technologies, and at the same time their biggest consumers. In this way we encourage them to use this knowledge in an applicable way. It was an honor to be part of the jury and participate in deciding on all the inspiring ideas that we had the opportunity to hear today, and I am sure that many of them will very quickly develop into successful entrepreneurial stories," – said Hrvoje Josip Balen, a member of the Algebra Management Board.

The teams were mentored by Algebra's experts: "I am extremely pleased to see the enthusiasm of the students who approached the demanding challenges in front of them with utmost courage and professionalism. We tried to support them on this path and guide them towards the development of the idea in the direction of innovation, but also market sustainability, as a component that should not be ignored in business processes. Algebra LAB was conceived precisely as a bridge between science and entrepreneurship, a collaborative ecosystem where many successful business ideas and start-ups have matured, and with competitions like today's hackathon, we maintain the dynamism of cooperation between students and entrepreneurs", said Ph.D. Maja Brkljačić, manager of Algebra LAB.

The winner was the Cookie Monsters team, whose members Martin Majerić, Dino Pećarina and Margareta Zeko designed biometric technology applicable to devices worn on the wrist such as watches or smart bracelets, which serve as an identification factor when entering mobile banking applications and other financial digital channels which require additional user authentication, and which can serve as the first line of defense against deepfake technology.

The members of the winning team won a prize of 3,000 euros: "We decided to join the competition because it seemed like a great opportunity to learn something new and develop a good idea that might be implemented one day. We decided to take on this particular challenge because it is the area where we can bring the most innovation to the table, and we think we made the right choice. People are still not aware of the extent of the deepfake problem, every year the demand and consumption of deepfakes in the world grows by 400%, and this technology is growing especially fast in the financial industry" – emphasized Cookie Monsters team member Margareta Zeko.

The winners of today's competition can be considered all those who entered, because almost all teams achieved a certain number of points, which means that the experts liked them very much, concluded Ph.D. Mislav Ante Omazić from EFZG, who as the initiator of the hackathon and reflected on the importance of student competitions in innovation: "Communication between different professions is extremely important, and another thing is teamwork. The problems of the modern world are extremely complex and cannot be solved by the individual, especially from the perspective of competences. So it's good when they are different. Many young people will already work in teams at the beginning of their careers, however, group and team are not synonymous and it is necessary to learn a lot and work on developing collaborative skills. This type of competition pushes people out of their comfort zone, in which learning and progress is limited, from which it is important to get out and go through the zone of fear, and events like our competition make this possible."

"There is nothing more useful than encouraging young people to think in the context of entrepreneurial ideas, perhaps they are not exposed to this in schools and that is why universities that encourage this, like Algebra, are actually the right way to direct them to their further professional development. I personally got involved as a member of the jury in this project because I want to be part of successful entrepreneurial stories in Croatia, and Algebra certainly is," – said Gordan Kožulj, director of the business consulting department at Deloitte.

"Today we heard a lot of interesting ideas, and as a member of the jury, I tried to see that the idea was not only relevant, but also ambitious, because you should always reward looking outside the usual angle of things. The students are great and I believe they will achieve success in the labor market as well. Young people should be told that they should always believe in themselves and should not be afraid of innovation, everything can be improved, and success is guaranteed for those who are persistent" – said Ivana Vukov, special adviser to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia.

"The students showed enviable knowledge, they showed good preparation, the amount of topics and innovations was great and I want to congratulate everyone once again for their courage in participating. Amodo as a company is present in the field of fintech and it is an integral part of our DNA" – said Zvonimir Oreč, CFO and member of the Management Board, Amodo.

"It was an honor to participate in this kind of competition, I'm glad to see young people with creative ideas, and I hope that we will organize more similar events in the future" – concluded Robert Perezić, General Manager, Monri.

The competition was intended for all students interested in learning how digital technologies are revolutionizing the financial industry and who are ready to demonstrate their knowledge in the field of application of new information technologies, fintech, artificial intelligence, IoT, blockchain and other innovations in existing financial systems.

For more, check out our news section.

November 14, 2019 - The second Adria Business Network event was held at the Algebra LAB in Zagreb, organized by entrepreneurs Željka Barišić and Kristina Krstinić. The event is aimed at business networking in Croatia and the region, creating business opportunities and encouraging continuing education. Through the event, everyone is offered the chance to find new clients and enter into lucrative deals.

Guest lecturer Damir Bicanic, head of Funderbeam SEE, pointed out what is needed to receive an investment through the Funderbeam platform, how many investors are currently within the platform, and what projects have been invested in since January 2017 when the platform came to Croatia.

Adnan Mehmedovic Medo, CEO/Director of Marketing, PR & Business Development of Fresh Island Festival/RNB Confusion, also guest speaker at the event, briefed the attendees on what is needed in a presentation to make investors invest €700,000 and shared information on events and festivals with global potential coming to Croatia next year.

“An extremely inspiring evening in which, thanks to our guest lecturers, we learned the details of doing business through Fuderbeam, as well as the novelties of the entertainment industry coming to Croatia in 2020. With each new event, we strive to provide current participants with up-to-date information and developments in the business world, and this is our imperative,” said Željka Barišić, an entrepreneur and one of the founders of Adria Business Network. 

Kristina Krstinić, also an entrepreneur and founder of Adria Business Network, had the following opinion about the event: “With the arrival of Fundrbeam in Croatia, as an innovative global company financing platform, not only is capital easier for innovative domestic companies, but the overall procedure is easier for potential investors. As a business consultant, I have had the opportunity to work with several successful innovative companies in Croatia, and I believe that such platforms are not only welcome but also indispensable, as they encourage the development of products with significant added value, and thus contribute to the global growth of innovations, which are very important in to today's world."

The new face of the event was Joseph Novosel, aka DearLeaderJoe: “I come to the event and find out that people are getting hundreds of thousands of euros in investments through the Funderbeam platform. I tore up my party membership card and knocked on Funderbeam's door. Thank you to the organizers for connecting us.”

Fashion brand Bonamie dressed the presenter and the event organizers for the evening, while hair was attributed to Ruža Salon, a symbol for quality and beauty.

The general sponsor of the event is Algebra, while the other sponsors are photographer Philipp Tomaš, Avon, InspireMe, Vina Posavec, Tomino wine, Aero Print.

The media sponsors of the event are magazine and portal Poduzetnik, magazine and portal Zaposlena, Netokracija, Bug, She.hr, Zagrebonline.hr, Story.hr, Rep.hr, Glas Istre, Glas Hrvatske, Flash.hr and Total Croatia News.  

The next Adria Business Network event takes place on 18.12.2019 at 6 pm at the Bagatin Clinic, when it is hosted by the director of the Bagatin Clinic, Ognjen Bagatin.

You can follow Adria Business Network on Facebook here.

To read more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

November 11, 2019 - The 2nd Adria Business Network event will be held on Wednesday, November 13, 2019, at Algebra LAB in Zagreb. 

Adria Business Network is conceived as a networking event for business people in Croatia and the region, creating business opportunities and encouraging continuing education. Through the event, participants are offered the chance to find new clients and enter into lucrative business deals.

The concept of the event, which is held once a month for two hours, is organized in such a way that the guest lecturer speaks for 30 minutes, followed by a pitch (i.e., personal presentation) of the event participants, which is 60 seconds per person, and up to 60 minutes in total. This is followed by time for socializing and networking, where guests can enjoy the perks of attractive sponsors. The guest speaker selection is always in line with the latest market trends.

The brains behind the event are Zeljka Barisic and Kristina Krstinic. 

The first Adria Business Network event was organized at Algebra LAB in Zagreb last month with influencer Veronika Rosandic, who described the gathering as very inspiring and stimulating for all generations. 

Thus, the second Adria Business Network will be held on Wednesday, November 13, 2019, from 6 pm to 8 pm at the Algebra Lab in Zagreb with Damir Bicanici, founder of Funderbeam SEE, and Adnan Mehmedovic-Medo, known for his work on the Fresh Island Festival, CEO of RNB Confusion, and director of marketing, PR and business development. 

Zeljka Barisic is an entrepreneur, athlete and economist whose passion is sales, finance, travel, and good books. She has practiced integrated marketing communication and worked at market research agencies and Business Intelligence in Zagreb for the last decade. Barisic leads Forca Digital Agency, a digital marketing agency that focuses on event management and game development. She is a blogger and lecturer at the InspireMe Portal and conferences, is a journalist for the magazine Entrepreneur and Leader, and also lectures at EdukaCentru. 

Kristina Krstinic, on the other hand, was born in Ljubljana and completed her studies in International relations at the Faculty of Social Sciences there. During her studies, she gained experience and knowledge by working at various well-known Slovenian marketing agencies. In January 2014, she opened her own business for business consulting in Zagreb, MIKRIS Project Management, which has been operating successfully since its inception. As a consultant and expert on EU funds and other financial instruments, she has over 6 years of work experience and a large number of successful projects. She is well versed in all aspects of business consulting and running your own business. She also owns a marketing firm and business consulting in Slovenia.

You can find more information about Adria Business Network here.

To read more about business in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

Excellent news for one innovative Croatian company as the European Commission gives them an official nod of approval.

June 12, 2018 - Improving tourism competitiveness through technology - meet Algebra LAB.