Bled, January 29, 2025 – The Slovenian Startup Forum 2025, held yesterday in Bled, brought together over 100 representatives from the startup ecosystem, key government decision-makers, and international experts. The main focus of the forum was the implementation of the Slovenian Startup Strategy 2030. One of the goals discussed was increasing compliance with the ESNA standards from the current 24% to the target of 69% by 2030. This second forum in the series had a clear mission: to build a stronger and more connected startup ecosystem, essential for the future of Slovenian startups as drivers of technological transformation and global competitiveness.

Slovenian Startup Strategy 2030 – Ambitious Goals and Five Key Initiatives

The strategy, led by the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport (MGTŠ), outlines the following objectives:

• Doubling the number of startups per million inhabitants (to 476),

• Increasing venture capital investments per capita tenfold (to EUR 410),

• Precisely tracking startup data (employment, revenue, value added, etc.) and achieving at least 25% annual growth in these metrics,

• Increasing the success rate of Slovenian companies in drawing EIC program funds,

• Reaching at least 69% compliance with ESNA standards as soon as possible,

• Maintaining a portion of domestic ownership in the long term,

• Ensuring business and innovation functions remain based in Slovenia.

To achieve these goals, the strategy relies on five key initiatives:

1. Strengthening the startup support environment,
2. Attracting global talent,
3. Developing the venture capital market,
4. Introducing optional employee bonuses,
5. Establishing a lean joint-stock company model to simplify company formation and management.
    

Faster Implementation Is Needed

State Secretary Matevž Frangež (Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport) summed up his impressions of the forum:
“The Slovenian Startup Forum showed strong support for the strategy aiming to make Slovenia one of the top European startup ecosystems. What matters now is to start implementing changes quickly.”

Tatjana Zabasu Mikuž, Managing Partner at South Central Ventures, echoed this sentiment:
“The strategy outlines the right challenges and initiatives. But the identified changes need to actually start happening. That requires understanding and collaboration across all ministries—economy, finance, labor—because partial solutions won’t deliver results. I hope the Startup Forum helps push forward the implementation of the strategy.”

 

The Goal: An Attractive Environment That Retains and Attracts Top Talent

According to the ESNA standards for attractive startup environments, Slovenia currently meets 24% of the benchmarks. The goal is to reach 69% by 2030. The solutions to make the business environment more attractive are known—now it's time to implement them.

 

“I’m glad that the forum clearly aligned around the goal of increasing the number of global high-tech companies operating in Slovenia. I hope the government will adopt our proposals and support them with competitive tax relief for salaries—this would show they genuinely want to retain and attract highly skilled and mobile talent. The recent tax relief for new residents is already a result of our cooperation,” noted Gregor Rebolj from Silicon Gardens and the Slovenian Technology Forum during the opening panel.

 

 

Targets for 2030 Are Ambitious and Widely Supported

At the opening panel, “Assessing the Potential of Slovenia’s Startup Sector”, speakers included Nikolina Prah (State Secretary, Ministry of Finance), Matevž Frangež (State Secretary, Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport), Tatjana Zabasu Mikuž, and Matej Rus (Start:up Slovenia). Panelists and attendees agreed the goals are ambitious, but emphasized the need for faster implementation if Slovenia wants to catch up with comparable ecosystems.mi. 

 

Vuk Lau, partner at Silicon Gardens and Chairman of the Startup and Scaleup Companies Section, commented:
“A year ago, we agreed on key steps to improve the startup environment in Slovenia, but not much has happened. The changes we hoped for turned out to be partial fixes. My biggest fear was that we’d do the bare minimum just to say we did something. Progress won't happen—even with support from the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport—unless other ministries and the Prime Minister also stand behind it.”

 

Change Must Not Be Tied to Political Mandates

Speakers also stressed the importance of continuity and intensity in implementing solutions, regardless of political cycles.

 

Jernej Salecl, Director-General of the Directorate for Internationalisation, Entrepreneurship and Industry at the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport, emphasized:
“The strategy is built on ambitious goals and equally ambitious measures. Realizing them requires active participation from all stakeholders. The five pillars of the strategy form a comprehensive upgrade of the Slovenian startup ecosystem. Only through simultaneous and consistent implementation will we be able to make real progress in competitiveness.”

 

Europe’s Best Practices Catalog Introduced for the First Time

Arthur Jordão, Executive Director of ESNA (European Startup Nations Alliance), presented the Startup Nation Standards, which benchmark the attractiveness of 24 European countries. He also unveiled—for the first time publicly—the online catalog of the best practices from European startup ecosystems.

 

“Europe is home to diverse startup ecosystems, each with its own strengths and challenges. This catalog is a tool for governments and stakeholders, offering practical solutions already implemented elsewhere—from tax incentives and funding programs to talent retention and innovation hubs. We believe these shared experiences can inspire others to replicate and build upon them,” said Jordão.

 

Europe’s Best Practices Catalog

 

Slovenia Has Made Progress, but Speed of Implementation Must Improve

In the panel “Challenges and Solutions to Achieve Top Startup Standards in Slovenia”, speakers discussed Slovenia’s key obstacles in implementing its startup strategy. With just 24% of the ESNA standards currently met, Slovenia ranks last among EU countries—making improvement critical. Participants included Jernej Salecl, Katja Božič (State Secretary, Ministry of Finance), Vuk Lau, Gregor Rebolj, and Nina Dremelj (Business Angels of Slovenia & VESNA Fund), who concluded:

“Today, Slovenia invests EUR 41 per capita in startup development. In contrast, leading countries like Estonia invest EUR 1,967. To make a breakthrough, we need a high-quality, commercially effective startup ecosystem focused on investment-ready and mature startups. Strong startups will naturally attract private investors—business angels and growth funds. Slovenia must become a European synonym for high-tech startups and an exporter of technological innovation.” 

 

 

Forum Once Again Brought Together All Key Stakeholders

For the second year in a row, the Slovenian Startup Forum brought together all key private and public stakeholders of the Slovenian startup ecosystem. More than 100 participants took part, representing startup companies, venture capital funds and business angel associations, entrepreneurial support environments such as university and business incubators and technology parks. The event was also attended by representatives of government organizations, including the Ministry of Economy, Technology and Sport, the Ministry of Finance, the Slovene Enterprise Fund, and SPIRIT Slovenia, which is also the initiator and promoter of the event.

 

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“With the organization of the Forum, we bring together key stakeholders of the Slovenian startup ecosystem, improve collaboration, and strengthen their roles in increasing the ecosystem's effectiveness. We enable open discussion on the challenges faced by startups and the venture capital market, thus creating room for systemic changes aimed at improving the business environment for the growth and development of startups. Slovenia faces challenges such as limited access to venture capital and low rankings on global indexes. That is why this year’s goals are focused on accelerating the implementation of the Slovenian Startup Strategy, and we expect that the outlined activities will in the future be reflected in increased investment and greater recognition and competitiveness of Slovenian startups on the global market,” said Irena Meterc from SPIRIT Slovenia.

 

The afternoon at the same venue continued with the international investment conference The Investors Edge.

 

Organizers and Partners of the Slovenian Startup Forum

The organizer of the Slovenian Startup Forum 2025 is SPIRIT Slovenia, public agency. The event partners are: the Start:up Slovenia Initiative and the Ministry of Economy, Tourism and Sport.

 

The program is co-financed by the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union, specifically from the NextGenerationEU European fund. The activity is carried out within the measure C3.K8.RA "Operation and Management of the RDI System" under the Recovery and Resilience Plan.