The creative industry sector is as a set of activities dedicated to generating and exploit knowledge and information. It combines creativity (usually determined by some cultural heritage), preferences, and business to support the economy. What does the Business Incubator Novi Sadhave to do with it? Let’s find out!
Creative and cultural industries (CCI)
CCI came in many shapes and sizes over time, starting with simple crafts who combined art with market demand creating unique products. As technology and its possibilities have grown more & more each year, the creative industry sector grew with it. Slowly, it mostly became a sector oriented towards digital products and services.
However, what exactly does count as a CCI? Well, there is no unique definition, and different sectors are considered part of CCI in different countries. For example, here’s what is considered to be a part of CCI in Serbia, by the definition that the Serbian Government published last year:
- Publishing
- Print media
- Graphics industry
- IT & Software development
- Advertising
- Music and Film industry
- Design
- Radio and Television
- Fashion
- Old crafts
While speaking of Serbia, it is essential to mention that the CCI is the fastest growing sectorwith more and more registered companies each year. In 2018 that number was over 30.000 companies who are employing over 115.000 people. Interestingly enough 97% of all the companies in this sector are entrepreneurs or small enterprises, which leads us to the next part of this article:
Business Incubator Novi Sad and CCI – Connection, impact, contribution
Business incubator Novi Sad is a company founded by the City of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technical Sciences of the University of Novi Sad, Development agency of Vojvodinaand public utility company “Informatika” in 2010. A soul purpose of Business incubator Novi Sad is to provide support to startups and entrepreneurs in the IT and CCI sector.
Software developers, web designers, full stack developers, graphic designers, game developers, Business Incubator Novi Sad has it all! BINS team is specialized in business development and the business side of the idea growth. The organization provides counsel to companies and teams concerning administration, marketing, finance, business model development, sales, VC pitch, and similar.
Business development and guidance is crucial to early-stage startupsbecause usually, first-time entrepreneurs, especially the ones with the technical background, are not aware of the importance of business aspects for their scaling. It is BINS job as a hub to guide them into success and scalability.
What does Business Incubator Novi Sad do precisely?
The support that BINS provides to startups and other companies is logistical and consulting, which means that BINS services includes office space, coworking space, kitchen privileges, conference rooms and meeting rooms available, consulting, mentoring, networking. Since it was founded in 2010, over 60 companies were (some still are) the Incubator tenants.
On top of that, Business Incubator Novi Sad isdedicated to education and entrepreneurial development of the community. BINS is hosting meetups, organizing training sessions and workshops, with foreign and domestic experts in various areas of business. More than ninety different events are facilitated in the Business Incubator Novi Sad per year with an average attendance of 35 people. Besides that, specific weekend events, such as Startup Weekend are BINS specialty, where people have a chance to wear entrepreneur’s shoes for 54 hours.
Even if supporting the community is one of the main tasks of the BINS team, most of their efforts are still directed toward the tenants who have decided to develop their business in the building. Throughout the years, many different companies, who were BINS tenants, contributed to the CCI sector development in Serbia, and most of them are still active today. To make this story more memorable, we have decided to present one of those companies today. Please meet our tenant:
Zumoko doo – Big projects, cultural support
Zumoko doois a tenant at the Business Incubator Novi Sad for almost three years now. Their superpower is excellence in AR/VR development, and this is the basis of their products and services. Zumoko’s core product is VR implementation in the car industry, and their business is focused around this vertical.
However, they have also developed several exciting apps for different cultural institutions in Serbia. One of the most interesting is the one that they developed with the Museum of Vojvodina, settled in Novi Sad. This application is making the museum tours more interactive– it even makes paintings come to life. A goal that Zumoko is having is to support culture in Novi Sad and to engage more young people to visit museums, especially the ones that are preserving local history and cultural heritage.
What’s next for the Business incubator Novi Sad?
Business incubator Novi Sad is here for almost a decade now, with a plan to be here for the future generations of startups in IT and CCI in Serbia and Novi Sad. Their mission is to support the creation of a healthy and vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in the city and the entire region.
As one of the partners on the O-City project, BINS team believes that they will be able to support creatives all over the city more effectively and innovatively through this exciting and fascinating project!