As part of the Butterfly Innovation Forum 2025, I had the pleasure of joining the “Practical Pathways to Finance Innovation” panel, organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC).
It was a pleasure to share the stage with Vesna Rasković Depalov from the Enterprise Europe Network and Jovan Paunović from Treesury, bringing together different perspectives on one of the most important questions for innovators and entrepreneurs across the region: how can promising ideas and innovative businesses access the right financing to grow?
The discussion explored the practical challenges startups and innovators face when navigating the funding landscape, from finding the right financing instruments and preparing for investment to understanding how public institutions, investors, corporate partners, and ecosystem organizations can work together to make capital more accessible.
From the SEE UP perspective, this is a particularly important topic. Supporting ambitious startups goes beyond providing capital — it is also about connecting founders with the right investors, partners, markets, and opportunities at the right stage of their growth.
A special thank you to Siniša Marčić, Senior Expert on Human Capital Development at the Regional Cooperation Council, for moderating the conversation and creating the right flow throughout the panel. Some of the most valuable conversations happen when there is enough space for an open and spontaneous exchange of perspectives, and this was certainly one of them.
It was a great opportunity to exchange experiences, hear different perspectives, and discuss how we can continue strengthening the innovation and financing ecosystem across Southeast Europe.
Thank you to RCC and everyone involved in the Butterfly Innovation Forum 2025 for bringing together such a strong group of people working to make innovation more accessible, investable, and impactful across the region.