ECOcube and Project O2 are the winners of the first HGK Pitch competition for Croatian green start-up and scale-up companies. Each project won a prize of 5,000 EUR, a study visit to Japan, meetings with Japanese investment funds, and proposals for improving investment readiness. Six projects out of 24 applications made it to the finals, and the winners were selected by an expert jury after pitching on the stage of the leading regional sustainability conference, Support Sustainability.

The valuable award in the Best Green Scale-up category went to Project O2. Magic Forest company from Grubišno Polje developed a project that uses drones and biodegradable "seed bombs" for fast and efficient reforestation of devastated areas. Their mission, as they say, is to bring forests back to Europe, with the help of technology, local communities and partnerships with public and private sectors.

"The competition is an opportunity for all of us finalists to show how Croatian ideas can be developed in line with European and global sustainable development trends. A stronger connection between science, innovation and entrepreneurship is still needed in Croatia. Green start-ups should be viewed as strategic partners in the transition to a sustainable economy. Systematic support, from financing to regulatory framework, would enable them to grow faster and become competitive in the global market," emphasized Lara Vukasović, sustainability development expert at Project O2.

Read more at https://www.hgk.hr/najbolji-zeleni-start-up-je-ecocube-a-najbolji-zeleni-scale-up-project-o2

Image source: HGK