Google and Goldman Sachs Partner with Infobip to Launch Mentorship Program for Startups of the Youngest EU Member Country

Aerial Photo of a Croatian  Island [Photo by Palo Cech from Pexels]

US-based tech and finance leaders eyeing Croatia as the next European Silicon Valley

16 Croatian startups included in the Scale|Croatia mentorship program now have access to the best tech and financial experts advising them on the development of their businesses

Infobip is the bridge between the vibrant Croatian startup ecosystem and the global leaders

US-based Google and Goldman Sachs today announced a new partnership with Infobip to launch an innovative mentorship program for startups from Croatia, the youngest EU member state with a population of more than 4 million. The country already has created its first two unicorns and its potent startup community is increasingly standing out in the Southeastern Europe region, and within the EU. Infobip, the leading global cloud communications platform, is one of the examples of a successful startup that started in small Croatia and reached unicorn status.

Google and Goldman Sachs recognized Infobip as a leader in the tech ecosystem in Croatia and the region. The Scale|Croatia joint mentorship program is open to all Croatian-based startups from Infobip’s Startup Tribe program. In the first year of Scale|Croatia, founders from 16 Croatian startups have received access to a 4-month mentorship program, enabling even faster and better-quality development and scaling of their businesses.

“Jigsaw is honored to participate in the Scale|Croatia mentorship program to further develop the tech ecosystem in this emerging European hub. We look forward to continuing to partner with emerging leaders of innovative companies in the region,” said Scott Carpenter, Director at Google Jigsaw.

Startup founders will get dedicated mentors from Google and Goldman Sachs with whom they can consult on various aspects of business development - product development, fundraising, marketing, sales and other fields.

“We decided to pilot this project with Croatian startups as we noticed a pattern of almost unlikely - but outstanding success stories. The data shows remarkable results for the up-and-coming Croatian tech sector. Croatia seems to be on a path that’s very similar to Estonia and Israel in the earlier days of their ecosystem, so the timing to engage with this particular group of young entrepreneurs feels very opportune“, said Jared Cohen, Co-Head of Applied Innovation and President of Global Affairs at Goldman Sachs.

Among the 16 startups from Croatia, Osijek-based Orqa stands out - a world leader in developing FPV goggles for drone pilots, and other startups developing products.

"We are very pleased that through Scale|Croatia we can help Croatian startups to more easily reach global leaders such as Google and Goldman Sachs. The fact that such large companies recognized the potential of our startup ecosystem is validation for us at Infobip, but also an important honor for the tech sector in Croatia, which positions itself as a new European tech hub, the European Silicon Valley alike. I wish much luck to all startups in the program and I am convinced that they will use all the opportunities it brings them,” concluded Nikola Pavešić, Director of Startups at Infobip.

The program was launched in June with an on-site event in New York City, attended by the majority of the 16 startup founders. The on-site kick-off was held in both Offices of Goldman Sachs and Google, where participants had an opportunity to listen to experienced speakers from both companies.

"The program opened access to a completely new level of expertise for Croatian startups, which unfortunately cannot be found at home. To be specific, we found it extremely useful to gauge the experience of Google in the field of product management, as well as the experience that Goldman Sachs has in listing tech companies on world stock exchanges. We are extremely grateful to Infobip and the Infobip Startup Tribe for everything they are doing for the regional startup ecosystem, and I hope that other large local companies will be inspired by this", said Srđan Kovačević, co-founder and CEO of Orqa.

Currently, the startups are halfway through the program, and positive results have already been reported. The Scale series, if proves successful with the Croatia edition, it will serve as a blueprint for other regions across the globe as well.

“We are very pleased that, through the Scale|Croatia, we can help domestic startups reach global leaders such as Google and Goldman Sachs, which ten years ago - when I was personally running my startup, was nearly impossible. Now with programs like this, this is no longer the case, and I am extremely proud that we at Infobip now serve as a bridge for all startups in the region to connect to the world’s center of the tech industry", concluded Ivan Burazin, Chief Developer Experience Officer at Infobip.

About Infobip

Infobip is a global cloud communications platform that enables businesses to build connected experiences across all stages of the customer journey. Accessed through a single platform, Infobip’s omnichannel engagement, identity, user authentication and contact center solutions help businesses and partners overcome the complexity of consumer communications to grow business and increase loyalty. With over a decade of industry experience, Infobip has expanded to 70+ offices across six continents. It offers natively built technology with the capacity to reach over seven billion mobile devices and ‘things’ in 190+ countries connected directly to over 700 telecom networks. Infobip was established in 2006 and is led by its co-founders, CEO Silvio Kutić, COO Roberto Kutić and CTO Izabel Jelenić.

Infobip Collaborates With Microsoft to Enhance Digital Communications

Microsoft partner Infobip’s SMS and WhatsApp solutions are now available through Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing

The integration helps businesses communicate with their customers over their preferred channel to improve the customer experience and boost sales

Global cloud communications company Infobip enhances its collaboration with Microsoft by integrating its WhatsApp and SMS channels to help businesses to deepen customer relationships, increase loyalty and boost sales. This follows Infobip’s deployment of its Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) on Microsoft Azure last year, adding its omnichannel capabilities to Microsoft’s platforms.

Customers increasingly want to message a business rather than call, so brands need to be where their customers are. Responding to this, Infobip has integrated its SMS and WhatsApp channels with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales. Businesses using Dynamics 365 Sales can now use Infobip to build personalized customer communication campaigns using text messages and benefit from WhatApp’s enhanced features such as graphics and video capabilities.

This includes sending personalized coupons to existing or potential customers to increase sales, collecting customer feedback to improve products and services, and sending bespoke event, appointment, or payment due date reminders. Data from a single-view dashboard means users of Dynamics 365 Sales can have a complete view of customer communications across these new channels, where they can see sent and delivered message reports.

Infobip has also integrated its WhatsApp channel with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing, ensuring marketing teams in enterprise companies can interact with customers where they are most likely to engage.

Veselin Vuković, VP of Strategic Partnership at Infobip, said: “The evolution of our collaboration with Microsoft demonstrates our commitment to ensure businesses can communicate with their customers using their preferred channel. In doing so, we help improve the customer experience, enhance loyalty, and ultimately boost sales. Our network delivered 225 billion messages last year and is connected to 70% of the world’s mobile devices via 700 global telecom partners. We’re delighted to be a Microsoft partner and our new integration will make it easier for customers to make use of our global reach and rich channel mix.”

Azure customers will also have the option to use existing Azure credits, as part of the Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) program, to access Infobip’s cloud contact center solution Conversations. Through this agreement, businesses can engage customers, partners, and sellers through existing Microsoft procurement relationships, while benefiting from Microsoft’s trusted expertise and its partner ecosystem.

Vincenzo Esposito, General Manager, Central & Eastern Europe, Microsoft, comments: “Companies like Infobip add value by integrating their solutions with Microsoft Dynamics 365. This ensures that businesses, no matter where they are or their channel preferences, can harness the benefits of digital transformation. Together we are enabling omnichannel communication to deliver impactful business solutions.”

Pamela Clark-Dickson, Principal Analyst at Omdia, adds: “One of the major trends currently underway in CPaaS is the vendors’ transition from enabling communications for better interactions with customers to putting the customer experience at the center of their strategic and technology roadmaps. That means that CPaaS vendors like Infobip, closely examine how consumers wish to interact with their service providers, with communications just one of the (very important) enablers that they can put in place to enable those interactions. This next step in the collaboration with Microsoft underpins this’. Businesses globally will gain the benefit of expertise from these two global leaders to advance their innovation agenda.”

Infobip Launches Infobip Startup Tribe, Its New Global Startup Program

The program will seek out the most innovative and impactful startups, assisting them with growth tools, credit allowances and network support

New Delhi, 26th May 2021 – Global communications company Infobip today announces the launch of its Infobip Startup Tribe program. The program will be led by newly appointed director Nikola Pavesic who joins from one of the world's largest business media publishers and Financial Times parent company – Nikkei. Mr. Pavesic is based in Japan where he headed Nikkei’s startup and investor relations, alongside leading the largest tech conference series in Japan.

Infobip Startup Tribe is a bespoke program aimed at finding and bringing together the world’s most innovative startups to help fast-track their growth and development.

Qualifying startups will be able to apply for substantial credit allowances on Infobip’s products and services worth up to $60,000 that will enable them to grow their customer base through omnichannel communication. Further on, Infobip plans to provide hands-on support in the sales and product fields though Infobip’s vast global teams. The Infobip Startup Tribe will also have at their disposal the resources of Infobip’s 65+ global offices, wherever available, and a special relationship with Infobip Shift – the newly acquired leading developer conference.

“With this valuable program, Infobip shows it is ready to invest in the community beyond what a more traditional tech company would do, not only through capital and credits, but through all other resources at its disposal, its global presence and network. The tech sector is an exciting game-changer, and we want to boost local and regional ecosystems throughout the world. Working with startups allows us to access new ideas, ways of thinking and approaches that enable companies to better leverage their own resources, assets and technology for greater impact. I am excited to have joined Infobip as it builds out its developer and startup organization and look forward to bringing value through startup collaboration.” – says Nikola Pavesic.

In addition to Infobip’s offerings, the program tapped external expertise to assist qualified startups, first with a unique Advisory Council comprising of top investors and entrepreneurs from all over the world.

Furthermore, Infobip has also confirmed partnerships with the world’s leading accelerators like Y Combinator, 500 Startups, Techstars and many other venture capital funds. Startups that apply for the Infobip Startup Tribe program, which are already funded by partnered VCs and accelerators will be receiving additional credits and benefits within the program.

"Startups have always been a personal passion of mine, with Infobip Shift originally being a Startup Conference, it’s really great to, as part of our new Developer Experience Department, get back to my roots and help the community, albite this time it is the global community.” – said Ivan Burazin, Chief Developer Experience Officer at Infobip.

Infobip has purposely ensured flexible application criteria ensuring it casts a wider net for startups consisting of up to 100 employees or those that have not received more than $5M in funding, subject to exceptions for whomever demonstrates impact and high-growth potential.

Interested startups can learn more and quickly apply by visiting https://startups.infobip.com/.