ZAGREB, 8 March 2022 - On the occasion of International Women's Day, Croatian President Zoran Milanović on Tuesday visited the exhibition titled "Women and Technology – Exhibition of Gender Inclusive Themes", staged in Zagreb's Nikola Tesla Technical Museum.

The exhibition was opened on 13 November 2021 and will run through 15 March.

It is dedicated to the promotion of women who contributed to the development of science and technology.

"The exhibition made use of permanent exhibits from the Nikola Tesla Technical Museum and includes women that are not necessarily scientists, but professionally carried out work that is typically associated with men. Furthermore, the purpose is not to single out the contributions of individual female scientists and inventors, but to strive to give a broader perspective," according to a press release issued on the website of the Office of the Croatian President.

The exhibition presents information and the destiny of prominent women "who broke down socially imposed barriers and made a name for themselves in male stereotype occupations, and the anonymous women to whom science is indebted."

The exhibition shows that in the late 19th century and 20th century there was a total of 5,280 women employed in Croatia, with almost 2,000 being maids and 1,500 in trades and industry.

Between the two world wars, women accounted for 20% of those employed in industry. In textile industry, every second worker was woman, and most of those female workers were without any qualifications or with semi-qualifications and from rural areas.

In the 1970s they accounted for more than 30% employees in industry while the process of de-industrialisation in the 1990s first affected industries that employed women.

The idea of equal pay appeared in the mid-19th century, however, the pay gap still exists in corporations.

President Milanović noticed that similar pay gaps exist in the public sector too.

ZAGREB, 15 Feb 2022 - The European Year of Youth, which is being marked in 2022 under the title "Young people - the drivers of modern industries", is an opportunity to popularise modern technologies in Croatia, as well as the contribution of young people as drivers of development, it was said at a conference in Novska.

Video game production is currently the fastest growing industry in the world, and the conference, organised by the Central State Office for Demography and Youth, was held at the PISMO Business Incubator in Novska, Croatia's leading gaming industry institution.

Presenting their work, young innovators and gamers also spoke of the problems they are faced with when trying to realise their ideas, such as the lack of funds for the creation of prototypes of their inventions and then financing the production.

The conference also discussed secondary school programmes for video game technicians, which are being implemented at the Technical School Sisak and the Secondary School Novska. The four-year programme enables students to work as designers of graphic elements or as programmers, but they can also pursue higher education.

The State Secretary at the Central State Office for Demography and Youth, Željka Josić, said that Novska was the first to turn to new technology and new industry and thus attracted many young people, adding that Novska was a positive example of what young people can do.

The State Secretary at the Ministry of Science and Education, Tomislav Paljak, said that with the new experimental programme for video game technicians, the Ministry gave support to the modern industry.

Novska Mayor Marin Piletić said that the conference should additionally highlight the role of young people in the digital transformation of the Croatian economy. That way, Novska has started an interesting story for the development of the city, the county and Croatia, he said.

June 24, 2021 - Following the professor Slavko Krajcar Death on June 18, take a look at the life of an established educator and scientist whose expertise made a significant contribution to Croatian politics in the energy sector.

„The influence of a teacher can never be erased“, or as an American historian Henry Brook Adams put it, „Teachers affect eternity; no one can tell where their influence stops“- these two are just some of the inspirational quotes about teachers you can find with a little assistance from Google.

Students at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER) at the University of Zagreb are recognized in Croatia for their innovations. At the end of the day, they owe their excellence to the professors that educated them.

One of such professors was Dr. Slavko Krajcar that sadly, as FER official website reported, passed away on June 18, last week.

"Professor, Dr. Slavko Kranjcar made a significant contribution to the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing as he was a dean of the Faculty from 1998-2002, after which he was the head of the department for high voltage and energetics from 2002-2006. He will remain in permanent memory as a respected scientist, expert, and a colleague“, said FER in an official release.

Kranjcar was also the member and the president of the Managing council at Ruđer Bošković Institute (IRB) that also expressed its condolences.

Born on January 14, 1951, Slavko Krajcar enrolled to study in FER in 1969, followed by graduating from Technical High School in Pula. He majored in FER in 1980 and got his Ph.D. in 1988. His scientific and lecture career started in 1974 when he was an assistant on a manufacturing electric energy course. From there on, he mentored various students on different levels, ten of which earned Ph.D. statuses under his guidance.

Kranjcar was active in the media, giving interviews and writing op-pieces on education issues, specifically the education of engineers in the 21st century.

„Krajcar participated on many domestic projects regarding science or economy as well on international scientific and professional projects. Counting just after the year 2000, he participated in over fifty projects, 36 of which he led. He was one of the leading figures in making Croatian Energetic Strategy (which the parliament accepted in 2010) and the Energetic Efficiency Strategy (2008) as well as executive plans on new strategies (2008-2020)“, recalled FER.

They added Fer rewarded Krajcar in 2002 when he received Josip Lončar's golden plaque for his dedicated scientific and educational work. He also received special recognition for developing SRCE- The Computer Centre of the University of Zagreb in 2011, followed by the Ho CIRED award for contribution in developing the field of electro distribution in Croatia. He also received HRO CIGRE recognition in 2018 for the overall contribution to the electro energetic activities in the Republic of Croatia and the Nikola Tesla Award in 2020 for the contribution to science, education, and profession in the field of electrical engineering and computer sciences and application of those technologies.

Believe it or not, Krajcar even made time to contribute to art and culture as well. He published two books of poetry, edited four books regarding cultural issues, and was the president of the Association for Čakavski dialect (distinct for the use of Ča as a word for what and conversated on coastal Croatia).

Learn more about Croatian inventions & discoveries: from Tesla to Rimac on our TC page.

For more about science in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

June 22, 2021 - The celebratory atmosphere for the Croatian informatics scene, as the Croatian female team wins 3 medals at EGOI, the first edition of the European Female Olympiad in Informatics.

With Croatia meeting the first edition of the European Girls Olympiad in Informatics (EGOI) with a Female team ready to participate, a fantastic result was achieved as the four-member team won the contest with three medals.

As Srednja.hr reported, Ema Borevković, Lina Krištić and Lara Semeš (from Zagreb's XV Gymnasium), and Martina Licul (Pulau Gymnasium) represented Croatia and the aftermath of the contest that gathered 157 contestants saw Ema winning a gold medal, while Lara and Martina grabbed silver medals for their results.

„I think the girls did a great job, particularly when you take into consideration that Lara and Lina are first graders. For myself, I think there was space to collect more points, so I'm not entirely happy“, a new champion Ema told Srednja.hr. She added that she currently writes matura and hopes to study mathematics at the Faculty of Science at the University of Zagreb.

The contest was held online due to pandemic measures. The organization of the event for Croatian was arranged by the Croatian Computer Science Association (CCSA), and Zagreb's XV Gymnasium was the host, a place where pupils took the tests. Ivan Paljak, Paula Vidas, and Dominik Fistrić were professional guides (coaches) to the team, while Matej Ferenčević, Nikola Dmitrović, and Alenka Dogan Capan, lead by Krešimir Malnar, were in charge of the organization of the performance. 

''The European Girls Olympiad in Informatics (EGOI) is a new international competition for young women interested in computer science, and it lasts for one week. The Olympiad comprises two contest days where the participants solve challenging algorithmic problems. The program is then rounded off with excursions. The students will have time to socialize with the other girls interested in the topic and to explore their host country. Each participating country may send a delegation consisting of four female participants under the age of 20, accompanied by two coaches,'' said the official website of the EGOI event. 

This amazing result isn't the first time Croatian pupils triumphed in the field of informatics. Croatian pupils, such as Dorian Lendvaj and Patrik Pavić, who won gold medals at the International Romanian Master of Informatics, previously showed informatics is a much-loved subject in Croatia.

For more on tech, you can learn more about digital nomads in Croatia on our TC page.

For more about education in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

June 8, 2021 - From June 30 to July 2, the exciting field of information and communication technology will be at ConTEL 2021 conference in Zagreb.

With information and communication technology steadily growing, new challenges, questions and issues are opening up – both for the industry and academic community. Both industry and academia will get the chance to address the latest issues and questions at the 16th edition of the international telecommunication conference ConTEL 2021, which will take place from June 30 to July 2 in Zagreb.

As the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER) at the University of Zagreb reported on its website, the goal of the conference is to encompass current and upcoming network technologies that allow omnipresent internet and communications as key starters of the connected information society.

„With new services and access networks grows the need to enhance network infrastructure - not just in terms of quality and performances, but also in terms of scalability (upgrading), mobility, energetic sufficiency, and technology integration. The Conference program will introduce the newest achievements in selected fields, through regular and specific thematic meetings and workshops“, states FER.

To ensure the quality of the conference, researchers, and scientists in this respective field, researchers and scientists were invited to submit their papers of work by March 21. The paper went under two double anonymous reviews to ensure an unbiased assessment of its importance and contribution to the conference. The selected papers will be readable on the IEEE Xplore website, and the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) is one of the key sponsors of the conference.

„IEEE and its members inspire a global community to innovate for a better tomorrow through its more than 396,000 members in over 160 countries and its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities. IEEE is the trusted 'voice' for engineering, computing, and technology information around the globe“, says IEEE, „the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity“ on its website.

„The format of the event will take into account the COVID-19 situation and travel restrictions. Our wish and goal is to have a live or hybrid event, with virtual participation as necessary. Stay safe and healthy, and we hope to see you in Zagreb!“, states the ConTel official website.

Learn more about Croatian inventions & discoveries: from Tesla to Rimac on our TC page.

For more about science in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 11, 2021 -The oldest university in Croatia is the one in Zagreb, and the best faculty at Zagreb University is the Faculty of Agriculture, according to the NTU global ranking of 800 universities worldwide.

The quality of Zagreb University, according to the global NTU ranking conducted by the National Taiwan University, is in decline. On the list of 800 Universities worldwide, Zagreb University was ranked 478th best in the world, and in recent years it was levitating between 551st and 600th place. But, as Srednja.hr reports, the overall decline of quality has an exception on that list, and it's thanks to the Faculty of Agriculture.

The Faculty is ranked to be the best at Zagreb University, and the area of agriculture on the global list is ranked between 301st and 350th place. That is the ranking of the area, but also under the criteria of research interest, the ranking is even better, 87th place, thus making it the only thing at Zagreb University to be in the top 100 on the list.

„Even though it's the oldest human occupation, agriculture today is light years away from what our grandparents know. Agriculture is part of the STEM area (‘science, technology, engineering & mathematics), and it's actually highly technological. There are several reasons why this sector so is fastly modernized. For starters, the production of food and raw ingredients to produce food is the most important human activity that will always have demand. To keep up the step with the increasing number of population, less and less arable surfaced and the increasing living standards, agriculture had to modernize significantly, and introduce newest technologies“, writes Srednja.hr.

© Sveučilište u Zagrebu Agronomski fakultet

The Agriculture Faculty in Zagreb was founded in 1919. As the Faculty's official website reports, they have over 450 employees today who are highly motivated to pass their knowledge to around 2,500 students, which they consider their greatest value that they add to society.

„By connecting with foreign universities, both from Europe and worldwide, we have international cooperation in both teaching and scientific research area, and student mobility. Successful participation in bilateral and multilateral research programs, exchanges of students, young scientists, and university lecturers, as well as securing scholarships contribute to the visibility and recognition of the Faculty on all levels“, says the Agriculture Faculty.

The Faculty's personnel annually publishes 280 scientific papers, and in the last decade, 160 active research projects are ongoing with 75% of investments coming from domestic sources and the rest from international ones. Scholarships supports, and rewards for the best students are secured through the trust fund the Faculty has.

„It's less known that the Agriculture Faculty is declared a Scientific Centre of Excellence CroP-BioDiv (for biodiversity and molecular plant breeding). It is one of the 10 scientific centers in the STEM area declared in the Republic of Croatia. CroP-BioDiv is a research network of top scientists from all over Croatia directed to the transmission of highly sophisticated knowledge and technologies“, writes Faculty's website concluding their institution is directed towards future with sustainability, quality, research encouragement, scientific excellence, and cooperation with the Croatian economy, as key strategic goals.

As Zagreb is a popular ERASMUS destination among European students because of cheap drinks, rich and vibrant party scene, The Agriculture Faculty shows that apart from partying, the Croatian capital is a place to get some actual learning done. And on a pretty high standard no less, at least when it comes to agriculture which serves as a role model to the rest of the poorly ranked University.

Agriculture is about food, and you can learn more about Croatian food (specifically, vegan and vegetarian options) on our TC page. 

For more about education in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Marin Bek, electrical engineer and co-founder of Ascalia and Kraken Systems, reflects on his life and success for Generacija NOW, a Hrvatski telekom project, in the form of a recent letter to his younger self. After graduating from FER (University of Zagreb, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing), he moved to America and found a job there, but eventually returned to Čakovec, Croatia. Today, at age 33, he runs two very successful companies.

When he was a kid in elementary school, he was dismantling TVs and burning things. And it was obvious to everyone that he wouldn’t study history but something STEM-related (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). He often went cycling with his mom, and while they rode together, she tried to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. He entered eighth grade and he told her that he wanted to be a programmer and work in California. Then he completed his degree in electrical engineering and computer science and lived in California for a while. After a few years, he returned from America to Čakovec, Croatia and started an IT company and later a tech startup there. It might have seemed like an odd path to his peers, but he knew that he had made the right decision because it is not important where you work in IT, but the kind of work you do.

Computer Whiz

Everyone in elementary school was interested in technology, but when he chose a high school, he encountered prejudice for the first time. He didn’t want to enroll in high school and chose the technical middle school in Čakovec instead, and since that school was not at its best, his former professors slandered him. They also summoned his mom to school and recommended that she take him out of technical school and enroll him in high school. And then his cousin Siniša, who had graduated from FER and the technical school in Varaždin, advised Marin’s mother to allow Marin to study what he wanted. Fortunately, she understood and gave him that choice.

The technical middle school was too easy for him. He was 16 years old, and advanced to the second level. Everything went smoothly, even though he wasn’t learning anything, and that's how it remained until he enrolled in FER. However, he found math so difficult there that he nearly lost a year and almost dropped out of college; but he advanced (barely). It took him some time to get used to the fact that things were not as simple as they were in high school, and he would have to study harder.

Working Full-time in College

He started working full time at Bosch during his second semester of college so that he could stay in Zagreb. He skipped typical student life and extended his studies to six and a half years. After working at Bosch for a few years, he had had enough of small programming jobs and he quit. Then he started working for the Austrian company AVL, and stayed there until leaving for America.

In the summer before his third year of college, he took a bus from Zadar to Čakovec. Among the documentaries shown during the bus ride was one about underwater robots exploring the Titanic. Seeing this encouraged him to enroll in a seminar on electrical engineering and the design of autonomous robots. He enjoyed this seminar and his professors persuaded him to switch from computers to electronics.

Autonomous Underwater Diver

He remained at AVL and his seminar paper turned into a graduate thesis. Then he made his own autonomous underwater diver, which was like a small underwater drone. Shortly before graduation, FER gave a lecture on startups, which still seemed like an abstract term back then. After that lecture, he spoke to the lecturer and Vladimir de Franceschi, a startup lawyer who worked in Silicon Valley, and told them about his autonomous diver. The lawyer like what he heard and suggested that he apply for the Startup Accelerator Program at the US-based Founder Institute in Zagreb, and later helped him with his startup in San Francisco.

After graduation he continued working at AVL. He wanted to enroll in the Founder Institute's American Startup Accelerator Program but needed an investment of 3000 HRK, which he didn’t have. His grandmother had a stroke and he helped pay for her care. Then his mother became ill and he looked after her as well. After discussing options with friends, his cousin Siniša lent him the money which was a major turning point. In Zagreb, he became familiar with the startup culture through the accelerator program.

From Croatia to San Francisco

One afternoon in Čakovec in the winter of 2012, he cut off part of his thumb above the bone while splitting firewood for his mother. They saved his thumb and the three months of sick leave turned out to be a positive thing. During his time at home he realized that it was better to work alone than in an office, and started thinking about moving to San Francisco. He founded his first startup while still in Zagreb, and soon found a job online at the Nextuser startup so that he could pay rent, food and finance his own project. Many of his peers warned him of the risk of quitting a job at a well-off Austrian company to launch a startup with someone that he had met on the Internet, but he believed it would pay off in the end.

He enjoyed San Francisco, and like everyone else, he juggled several jobs while developing his startup. It was entirely commonplace there to be sitting in a cafe and have a waiter share an idea for a startup. He tried to get involved with marine technology and underwater drones but couldn’t obtain financing. Six and a half years later, he realizes that his idea was ahead of its time, and making it happen would have been extraordinarily expensive.

His project eventually failed, and he ran out of money, but quickly connected with people who would play a key role in his future. At Nextuser he had advanced from IT developer to CTO, and became involved with finding investors, which enhanced his knowledge and pool of acquaintances. However, he wanted to return to Croatia for his mom's sake and didn’t want to get stuck in America forever. In 2013, he and his friend and colleague Dean Strbad launched an IT company called Kraken Systems which dealt with big data in Čakovec. For a while he lived on the Čakovec-San Francisco route. After two and a half years, he left Silicon Valley and returned to Croatia.

Return to Croatia

When he set up Kraken Systems in Čakovec, his critics thought it strange that he had not chosen Zagreb. But his reasons were based on logic: Dean, who is also from Čakovec, worked alongside him. He also set up a home office so that he would not have to rent a space. Besides, he wanted to be closer to his mom because she was ill and needed his help. And, he didn’t allow himself to be influenced by peer pressure, because he had been shaped by American business culture, and knew that the location of his firm was completely irrelevant.

He didn’t plan on working with Croatian clients anyway, and it didn't matter to anyone in America whether the company is in Zagreb, Čakovec or Varaždin because they’d probably never heard of any of those cities. Also, in America, he never experienced prejudice regarding where he worked or where he came from. San Francisco is a melting pot, which is a positive aspect of life there. People arrive from all over the world and come from many different backgrounds.

However, after three and a half years, he decided to move the business to a more central location. His mother’s health didn't improve, and he moved to Zadar, where it became apparent that he would never return to Čakovec. As he continued to add staff; he decided to rent offices in Zagreb. However, he kept an office in Čakovec, where three people are currently working.

Kraken Systems is a now a company with close to 1 million EUR in revenue and they work with clients like Carrefour, Nestlé, Ferrer and Forbes. Four years after Kraken Systems began operations, he launched Ascalia, another tech startup, and now has over 20 employees in both companies.

He found investors from Canada and Croatia and his new startup focuses on industry and helping factories to modernize. They use the benefits of technology to reduce environmental impact and overall costs while optimizing operations. He created software and devices which allow industrial machines, made from 1979 to the present, to connect to the Internet. This allows clients to run a smart factory without a major investment. He has continued to develop this company, which is active in London, Paris and Germany. Everywhere except Croatia.

These days he travels all over the world: one day he’s in Paris, the next day in Munich or London. He also travels through America, Europe and China for work.

Advice to Young Entrepreneurs

His advice to young entrepreneurs? Don’t hesitate to take risks and follow your instincts without overthinking things. There will be tough times and obstacles, but be persistent and don't give up. Unfortunately, he no longer has any close relatives: mom, dad, or grandparents, so he doesn’t rule out living abroad again. Seven years ago, he was raising money for gas in Čakovec, and he never dreamed of achieving such success in his early thirties. He has no idea what his forties will bring. We’ll have to wait and see.

About Generacija NOW

Generacija NOW is a donor-sponsored program implemented by Hrvatski Telekom in partnership with the Institut za razvoj i inovativnost mladih (Institute for Youth Development and Innovation). In four years, more than HRK 4 million has been invested in preparing young people for jobs of the future, and the program works with more than 300 educational institutions across Croatia.

With the documentary “Generacija inspiracija” (Inspiration Generation), as well as a series of activities within the donation program, Hrvatski Telekom emphasizes the importance of investing in better education for all school age groups – so that they can successfully navigate life without missing out on opportunities provided by the latest technological advances. The importance of destroying preconceptions and prejudices must not be forgotten. And one of the more common preconceptions is that businesses cannot be started in smaller environments.

For more information on Croatian entrepreneurs and business in Croatia, follow our Business page here or our Made in Croatia page here.

Croatian innovation seems to know no bounds (other than state bureaucracy that is), and is continuing to go from strength to strength with an impressive wave of technological inventions and solutions, winning acolades and recognition from around the world.

As Samo Pozitivno writes on the 22nd of May, 2019, Croatian-made flight control software, Vibe solution, has been declared the world's best technical solution by the expert IFATCA jury, an international flight control association. As far as the acknowledgment for this piece of innovation, the representatives of Vibe and Croatian air traffic control received an award during the first day of the IFATCA58 event, which took place from the 20th to the 24th of May in Costa Rica.

To win the title of being the absolute best of the best, this Croatian software was carefully chosen among technical solutions from more than 130 countries worldwide. The jury awarded their recognition to the Croatian multi-briefing system, which is one of the brighter examples of cooperation between the private and public sectors.

''The idea was to develop a system that will enable the easier and faster information flow between departments in air navigation control so that decisions can be made timely and precisely on the basis of "in-time" information, but also to maximise the performance of the department. Croatia's air traffic control has proven to be an excellent partner, as it recognised this idea five years ago and helped us to develop a system that has made the experts proclaim it the best in the world,'' said Marko Emer, the creator of Vibe Solution software upon receiving the award which was handed over by Philippe Domagal.

The value of this Croatian software was recognised by most of the 50,000 members of IFATCA from more than 130 countries around the world, consisting of aerospace and flight control professionals, making this success even more significant.

"It's always nice to get praised for some work, but when that praise comes from the experts, and when the choice is between the solution made by an IT company from Croatia and hundreds of other software developing companies from some of the richest countries in the world, then that feeling of satisfaction is far greater. This award for Vibe Solution once again proves that Croatia can truly prosper by investing in IT and providing opportunities for digital transformation through our innovations,'' emphasised Emer.

In the following four days of the IFATCA58 conference, numerous meetings took place between representatives of air navigation control from around the world, and there were certainly be opportunities for Croatian representatives to elaborate more closely on their experience with Vibe Solution software.

''Now the Croatian air traffic control officially uses system uses the best multi-briefing software in the world, which surely brings extra credibility among colleagues from around the world,'' added Emer, adding that he hopes that this Croatian software will soon be adopted by yet more countries across the world.

Make sure to stay up to date on more Croatian inventions, innovation, products and services and much more by following our dedicated business and Made in Croatia pages.

Click here for the original article by Slobodna Dalmacija

As Morski writes on the 21st of May, 2019, the new Orbiter 3 is MORH's new means for the country's Homeland Security system, and will be used for by the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Croatia and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Croatia.

MORH states that their aircraft will be used in early fire detection, in the control of waterways and roads, support in crisis situations, and for support in the control of the country's borders.

The Orbiter 3 drone weighs 30 kilograms, its flight range is 150 km and it can be in the air for as long as seven hours, and when descending, a parachute is released. Its wingspan is 4.4 metres wide and it can cruise at 130 kilometres per hour.

The unmanned aircraft was first introduced to the public during the Paris Air Show back in 2005. It is made entirely of carbon composite and is powered by an electric motor, in addition it is equipped with an optical and an infrared camera, and data link and navigation systems (GPS and INS).

What is also interesting to note is the fact that the Serbian army acquired ten such Orbiters eleven years ago, In addition to Serbia and Israel, these Orbiter drones are used by Azerbaijan, Finland, Ireland, Mexico, Peru, Poland and Uganda.

Although the Orbiter 3 prototype was first introduced back in 2011, there have been improved versions of its two predecessors (in addition to the camera, a laser sight has also been added), MORH did not publicly disclose the characteristics of the camera itself on this particular version. The manufacturer has rather vaguely written that it boasts a "high definition camera", but whether or not that is in reference to 2019's standards, we don't know.

These drones should also control fishing in the Adriatic sea, and a contract worth 4.88 million euros with the Israeli company Aeronautics was signed by the Minister of Agriculture Tomislav Tolušić back in May 2018.

View MORH's new drone footage here:

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more.

This Croatian startup currently employs 45 people. Its income in 2013 was thirteen million kuna, last year it reached 35 million, and in 2019, 50 million kuna is expected.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Bernard Ivezic writes on the 20th of May 2019, the Croatian startup Zipato develops and manufactures smart home systems, which results in a Croatian solution that can compete globally with the likes of Apple, Google and Samsung. Just recently, 10,000 central ''Zipabox'' smart home computers have been delivered to the USA from right here in Croatia.

With that contract, the Croatian company concluded its single biggest job so far. Sebastian Popović, the co-founder of the former Vodatel, who is today the co-founder and director of Zipato, didn't want to delve too deep into the details of this contract, but he emphasised the fact that it was so significant that the production of Zipabox systems has moved to Zagreb.

For nine years now, 30,000 pieces of the same product but in its smaller series were sold across the Atlantic in America. Since then, far bigger orders have been dealt with by developers and OEM partners who have been equipping a larger number of apartments and various business premises with Zipabox's system.

"I expect there will be more similar contracts," stated Popović.

Sebastian Popović, along with Damir Sabol, is the only Croatian entrepreneur who has managed to build a profitable startup on the Croatian telecom market and then sell it successfully. Sabol sold Iskon to Croatian Telecom for 100 million kuna back in 2006, and Popović sold Vodatel to the former Metronet (currently integrated into A1 Croatia) for 80 million kuna just one year later. While he was in Vodatel, he developed the "eTV media centre", a computer that is the counterpart of today's well known IPTV set-top box.

Moreover, his former Vodatel was the first in Croatia to launch IPTV as a commercial service back in 2005. It had almost all of the functionality of today's IPTV, including video on demand. After the sale, Vodatel briefly moved to the building industry, but the global financial crisis, which hit Croatia in 2008, pushed that Croatian company back towards technology.

"We started nine years ago when we imagined ourselves quickly developing hardware and offering a smart home service in Croatia. However, we needed three years just to be able to show the first version of Zipabox," Popović noted.

He added that despite this, the hard work and effort definitely paid off. Although there were already many devices on the market and various smart home sensors around, either they weren't properly compatible with each other, or their installation and connection required large and burdensome investments.

"From the outset, we attracted the interest of customers from different parts of the world, mostly from some of the most developed countries, and they started contacting us and distributing and promoting Zipato in their countries," Popović said.

Today, the Croatian Zipato is present in an impressive 89 countries and across five continents. On its platform, more than 300,000 IoT devices are currently connected to 50,000 households and other spaces. The big business opened up its doors when this Croatian startup started to work directly with integrators and developers in the construction industry, instead of just with individual customers and distributors, who were so well equipped with new builds.

Popović emphasised the fact that they have had contacts with such companies in that industry since as far back as the year 2000.

As stated at the beginning, this impressive Croatian startup employs 45 people, it saw income of thirteen million kuna back in 2013 and as much as fifty million kuna is expected this year. In the last four years, they have also begun to contract OEM deals for telehandlers, power companies and other utility companies.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and Made in Croatia pages for much more.

Click here for the original article by Bernard Ivezic for Poslovni Dnevnik