Organised by the Croatian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (CVCA), the sixth edition honoured the leading PE and VC achievements of 2025 and was held in English for the second time amid strong regional participation.
ZAGREB, 16 April 2026 – The sixth edition of BestInvest, organised by the Croatian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (CVCA), was held in a full Emerald Ballroom at Hotel Esplanade in Zagreb, bringing together founders, fund managers, institutional investors and ecosystem partners from Croatia and the wider region. Held for the second time in English and attracting a large number of regional participants, BestInvest 2026 reflected the increasingly international reach of Croatia’s private capital market and the growing scale of an industry in which CVCA members today manage more than EUR 4.5 billion in capital.
Seven awards were presented for achievements in 2025, in the order in which they were announced during the ceremony. The award for Private Equity Investment of the Year 2025 went to Mlinar, for the investment by Mid Europa, EBRD and Bosqar Invest. The award for Venture Capital (Later-Stage) Investment of the Year 2025 went to SplxAI. The award for Venture Capital (Early-Stage) Investment of the Year 2025 went to Arkensight, for the investment by Silicon Gardens. The award for Founder of the Year 2025 went to Kristijan Kamber and Ante Gojsalić of SplxAI. The award for Exit of the Year 2025 went to Invera Equity Partners for its exit from Museum of Illusions. The award for Fundraising of the Year 2025 went to Provectus Capital Partners. The award for Investor of the Year 2025 went to Invera Equity Partners.
Opening the conference, Mirna Marovic, President of the Croatian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (CVCA), said that Croatia’s private equity and venture capital market has matured into a more international, sophisticated and relevant part of the economy. “BestInvest is not only a celebration of success. It is also a statement of confidence in what comes next. It is proof that Croatian private capital has moved from promise to performance – and that our greatest achievements may still be ahead of us,” said Marovic.
In his keynote address, Alan Herjavec, Member of the Management Board of the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR), emphasised HBOR’s role in building a continuous financing pathway from venture capital to public markets. “HBOR plays an active and comprehensive role in the development of the Croatian capital market, and we are taking a further step forward by developing a Pre-IPO fund and considering investments in future IPOs in order to encourage more Croatian companies to list on the Zagreb Stock Exchange,” said Herjavec.
Speaking at the conference, Sladjana Cosic, Head of Office in Croatia, European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group), highlighted the scale of EIB Group support for Croatian funds and co-investments. “The European Investment Bank Group, through the European Investment Fund, continues to play a key role in strengthening Croatia’s private equity and venture capital ecosystem and, through initiatives developed with HBOR and the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, we are expanding access to finance, mobilising private capital and helping strong Croatian ideas grow into European success stories,” said Cosic.
In his remarks, Miljan Zdrale, Director for Central Europe, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), underlined the EBRD’s long-term commitment to Croatia and the growing role of equity in delivering impact across the region. “Over more than 30 years in Croatia, the EBRD has invested EUR 5.2 billion across 275 projects, with equity playing an increasingly central role in delivering impact, and in Croatia we continue to support the development of the local private equity ecosystem through investments in managers such as Provectus Capital Partners and Invera Equity Partners,” said Zdrale.
Addressing the conference on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and as special envoy of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Mr Andrej Plenković, Zrinka Raguz, State Secretary at the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, said that the public sector partnership model is helping multiply investment volumes for Croatian start-ups. “Through the second generation of venture capital funds, the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds are systematically mobilising private capital with EU resources, generating triple the investment volume for the most promising start-ups and paving the way for new Croatian unicorns through an expected EUR 215 million of future investments,” said Raguz.
Providing a market perspective, Dejan Ljustina, Partner, Vision Partners, argued that recent geopolitical shocks have created complexity, but not contraction, for private capital. “The Gulf War has created the most complex operating environment for private capital since 2008 – but complexity is not the same as contraction; for CEE and Southeast Europe the structural case has strengthened, and the question is no longer whether private capital will flow here, but whether we are ready to absorb it at the speed the current moment demands,” said Ljustina.
Accepting the Fundraising of the Year 2025 award on behalf of Provectus Capital Partners, Igor Cicak, Managing Partner and CEO of Provectus Capital Partners, said that the success of the firm’s recent fundraising reflects both investor confidence and the growing strength of the regional ecosystem. “Private equity is playing an increasingly important role in supporting the growth and transformation of companies across Croatia and the wider SEE region, and the success of our recent fundraising is a strong vote of confidence from our investors in both the opportunity set and the strength of the ecosystem,” said Cicak.
The later programme focused on regional market development. In the panel “Adria region’s Private Equity comes of age: bigger funds, better exits, clearer signals,” Sanja Ancic Curkovic, Director, ESG & Portfolio, Provectus Capital Partners, addressed how larger fund sizes and broader LP backing reflect growing confidence in disciplined regional managers; Kristijan Hundric, Investment Manager, Invera Equity Partners, used the Museum of Illusions story to show how a Croatian-born concept can scale internationally and become exit-ready; Marko Perozic, Deputy Chief Content Officer, Bloomberg Adria, examined the signals that support – and still test – the thesis that Adria private equity has come of age; Dragoș Petre, Partner & CFO, Morphosis Capital, outlined the case for expanding regional value-creation strategies into Croatia and wider CEE; and Tomislav Tomljenovic, Regional Director, Adria, Enterprise Investors, assessed whether the region now consistently produces businesses, managers and exits that meet international standards. The panel was moderated by Mirna Marovic, President, CVCA.
In the panel “Scaling regional champions: the new ownership playbook,” Aleksandar Dragicevic, Principal, MidEuropa, argued that scaling today depends as much on governance, management depth and speed of execution as on capital; Darko Horvat, President of the Management Board, Bosqar d.d., discussed how stronger governance, better data and faster decision-making support multi-market platforms; Zvonimir Simic, CEO, Optika Anda, highlighted what makes a company genuinely scalable across markets; and Mladen Veber, CEO, Mlinar, addressed the operational decisions required to turn growth into real regional scale. The session was moderated by Vladimir Nisevic, Editor, Forbes Hrvatska.
In “First check into Frontier AI: the Arkensight story,” Bruno Coric, Co-Founder & CTO, Arkensight, presented how the company is turning visual data into trusted operational intelligence for critical infrastructure, while Izet Zdralovic, Partner, Silicon Gardens, explained why Silicon Gardens wrote the first institutional check into the company and why early conviction matters in frontier AI; the conversation was moderated by Mirna Marovic, President, CVCA. In the closing discussion, “Investing in longevity: GlycanAge and the future of preventive diagnostics,” Nikolina Lauc, Co-Founder & CEO, GlycanAge, spoke about longevity and preventive diagnostics as the next frontier of health innovation, Nina Dremelj, Managing Partner, Vesna VC, discussed the venture capital case for backing the sector, Pedja Predin, Managing Director, Fifth Quarter Ventures, added a regional investor perspective on the opportunity, and Bernard Ivezic, CEO & Co-founder, Unicorn Underground, moderated the session.
The winners of the BestInvest 2026 Awards were selected by an expert jury and Awards Committee comprising, in alphabetical order by surname, Hajdi Cenan, President, Croatian Startup Association (Cro StartUp); Ivana Gazic, President of the Management Board, Zagreb Stock Exchange; Sven Harjacek, Team Lead, BIRD Incubator; Marijana Ivanov, PhD, Professor, Faculty of Economics & Business, University of Zagreb, and Chief Economist, Croatian Exporters Association; Bernard Ivezic, CEO & Co-founder, Unicorn Underground; Andrej Knez, Director of Strategic Risk Management, Addiko Bank AG; Antonija Knezevic, Executive Editor, Lider Media; Leo Mrsic, PhD, Professor and Vice Rector for Science and Research, Algebra University; Antonija Mrsic Radas, Executive Director, Croatian AI Association (CroAI); Vladimir Nisevic, Editor, Forbes Hrvatska; Tamara Perko, Director, Croatian Banking Association; Goran Saravanja, Chief Economist, Croatian Chamber of Commerce; Hrvoje Serdarusic, PhD, Owner & Director, serdarusic.com; Velimir Srica, PhD, University Professor Emeritus and Member, European Academy of Sciences and Arts; Filip Stipancic, Managing Partner, Smion; and Hrvoje Stojic, Chief Economist, Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP).
CVCA extends special thanks to its Gold Sponsor, the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR), and its Bronze Sponsor, Provectus Capital Partners. It also thanks its partners and supporters, in alphabetical order: Algebra Lab; BIRD Incubator; Croatian AI Association (CroAI); Croatian Banking Association (HUB); Croatian Business Angels Network (CBAN); Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK); Croatian Exporters; Croatian Startup Association (Cro StartUp); Nucleus, Deep-tech Venture Builder; Progress Market ZSE; Slovak Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (SLOVCA); Smion; Unicorn Underground; and Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE). The support of 14 partners and supporters, alongside the event’s two sponsors, was a strong testament to the growing depth and interconnectedness of the Croatian private capital market ecosystem.