Brightwood Capital Advisors was selected as a partner due to its strong strategic alignment with the Museum of Illusions’ long-term vision, as well as its deep understanding of the franchise-based business model that has underpinned the brand’s success to date. The partnership will enable accelerated expansion into new markets, increased investment in innovation, infrastructure, and operational capabilities, while preserving the brand’s identity and core values.

“This strategic acquisition confirms the value of the brand we have built from Zagreb and its long-term global potential. Partnering with an investor such as Brightwood allows us to accelerate international expansion, further invest in innovation and infrastructure, and continue strengthening our position as the world’s leading brand in experiential entertainment, while preserving our business model and identity,” said Tomislav Hlupić, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Museum of Illusions.

The ownership change follows more than a decade of strong and consistent growth. During this period, Metamorfoza, the Croatian company that manages the Museum of Illusions and is headquartered in Zagreb, successfully built and globally positioned the brand as a leader in the edutainment segment—combining education and entertainment. The Museum of Illusions was conceived by founders Tomislav Pamuković and Rok Živković and rapidly evolved into an internationally scalable and commercially attractive business model.

Today, the Museum of Illusions operates nearly 70 locations across 27 countries and five continents, with a particularly strong presence in the North American market. The museums attract millions of visitors annually, offering unique experiences for all generations through recognizable interactive illusions, innovative exhibits, and a high level of experiential value. Since its founding in Zagreb in 2015, the brand has established itself as a global leader among private museums focused on experiential entertainment.

The entry of Brightwood Capital Advisors comes at a time when the Museum of Illusions has reached a level of global maturity that requires additional investment and expanded infrastructure. The investment partner provides access to capital, international expertise, and strategic operational support necessary for accelerated growth, further market expansion, and continued brand development—while maintaining the proven and successful business model.

The company’s global headquarters will remain in Zagreb, while the operational hub for the U.S. market will continue to operate out of Scottsdale, Arizona, reflecting both the brand’s strong European roots and its robust growth in the United States. The existing management team in Croatia and the U.S. remains in place, led by Chief Executive Officer Kim Schaefer, and will guide the next phase of global development. The development of new illusions and exhibits will continue in Oroslavje, led by the company’s research and development team.

As part of the transaction, five existing franchise museums in the United States—located in Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Scottsdale—will transition to corporate ownership, further strengthening the brand’s operational presence in one of its key markets. Investment fund Invera Equity Partners will remain a minority shareholder.

“The Museum of Illusions is one of the few Croatian projects that has grown into a globally relevant brand with a clearly defined business model and sustainable growth. We see the entry of Brightwood Capital Advisors as a logical and powerful step into a new phase of development, while preserving the brand’s values and identity,” said Slaven Kordić, Partner at Invera Equity Partners.

Beth Steinberg, Strategic Partner at Brightwood Capital Advisors, highlighted that the Museum of Illusions represents an exceptionally strong global concept with a proven business model and experienced leadership, noting that the investment is focused on long-term development, expansion into new markets, and further strengthening the quality and reach of the brand.

Plans for the upcoming period include opening new locations in London, Sacramento, Mexico City, Geneva, Hong Kong, Birmingham, Cologne, and Melbourne, continuing one of the most successful international expansions of any Croatian brand. This strategic acquisition further demonstrates that Croatian companies—supported by strong concepts, quality management, and long-term vision—can grow into globally relevant and highly valuable business platforms.

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The 2025 edition coincided with the 20th anniversary of CVCA. From almost embryonic beginnings, CVCA has evolved into one of the largest and most active national private equity and venture capital associations in Central and Eastern Europe, bringing together more than 35 members, including 27 fund managers of alternative investment funds who jointly manage over €4.5 billion in assets across Croatia and the wider region. This year’s event, now it its third edition, drew senior representatives from leading European and international private equity and venture capital funds, pension funds, development institutions, family offices, and other long-term investors, underlining Croatia’s growing role on the European private-capital map.

In her opening remarks, Mirna Marović, President of CVCA and chair of the LP–GP Networking Event, reflected on the journey of the Croatian market and the partnership between public and private capital that has underpinned its development. “From truly embryonic beginnings, CVCA has grown into one of the largest national PE/VC associations in Central and Eastern Europe — with 27 fund managers among more than 35 members, and capital under management north of €4.5 billion, drawing colleagues not only from Croatia but also Slovenia, Austria, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria,” said Marović. “Croatia now enjoys one of Europe’s most supportive regulatory environments for pension funds to back alternative investment funds. That evolution reflects partnership: international financial institutions like EIF and EBRD, our national development bank HBOR, and — crucially — domestic private-sector LPs who believed that collaboration between local LPs and local GPs is the engine of a healthy market.”  Marović emphasised that in a world of “choice overload” for institutional investors, emerging fund managers deserve a fair allocation of capital, not as an act of goodwill but as a disciplined performance strategy backed by data. She underlined that global evidence shows emerging managers can offer stronger upside, greater alignment and differentiated strategies that respond to today’s market conditions. “The brands of tomorrow are in this room today,” she noted. “A thoughtful carve-out to emerging managers is not charity — it is a performance strategy with evidence behind it.”

The conference opened with institutional addresses from the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), both long-standing partners in the development of Croatia’s venture capital and private equity ecosystem. Speaking at the conference, Slađana Ćosić, Head of the EIB Group Office in Croatia, highlighted the Group’s record financing volumes in Croatia in 2024, including substantial commitments from the European Investment Fund (EIF) that mobilised several times more in private capital. She pointed to EIF’s expanded support for early- and growth-stage funds through mandates such as CVCI II and CROGIP II, as well as the newly launched TechEU platform, designed to mobilise large-scale capital for European innovation, startups and scale-ups by 2027. Ćosić underscored Croatia’s rising role in Europe’s innovation and funding landscape, describing the country as “an emerging force” and reaffirming the EIB Group’s long-term commitment to sustainable growth.

From a global development perspective, Magdalena Šoljakova, Senior Country Officer for Croatia, Slovenia and North Macedonia at IFC, stressed IFC’s determination to support disruptive technologies and digital transformation across the region. She emphasised that IFC is ready to catalyse entrepreneurship ecosystems via venture capital and growth equity and to address critical funding gaps by mobilising early-stage and seed capital, co-investments and blended finance instruments that can crowd in private investors.

A central feature of the LP–GP Networking Event is the close partnership with the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR), which served as the event’s Gold Sponsor. HBOR has been a backbone institution for the market’s development, anchoring key fund-of-funds and co-investment programmes and acting as a catalyst for private capital. Reflecting on HBOR’s role, Željka Idžan, Specialist in the Investment Department at HBOR, noted: “Croatia’s private equity market has made strong progress in the last couple of years, though further development is needed to reach EU average. HBOR is proud to have supported industry growth and will continue prioritizing private equity investments moving forward.”

The morning programme featured keynote presentations from three leading European investors: Thomas Rubens, Partner at DN Capital; Dariusz Pietrzak, Partner at Enterprise Investors; and Danijel Višević, General Partner at World Fund. They addressed the interplay between fundraising cycles, valuation resets, the rise of AI and climate innovation, and the shifting role of public and private capital in Europe’s growth story. Against the backdrop of a more demanding fundraising environment and persistent liquidity challenges, the speakers examined how both LPs and GPs are adapting their strategies, with a particular focus on emerging managers, secondary solutions and impact-oriented strategies. In this context, Pietrzak underlined the importance of mobilising local sources of capital in Central and Eastern Europe, stressing that as capital grows scarcer across Europe, relying more heavily on local LPs is essential to capture the region’s significant private-market growth potential.

Speaking about the distinctive nature of the LP–GP Networking Event, Danijel Višević emphasised the trust and depth of discussion it enables: “The leading GP-LP event in the Adria region, curated by Mirna Marović, unites Europe’s top investors in a uniquely insightful and trust-driven setting that leaves a lasting impact.”

In line with its core mission, the event devoted significant space to LP perspectives. The LP panel “Inside the Minds of LPs: What Drives Allocation in 2025 and Beyond” brought together Michal Kosina, Manager Institutional Mandate Relationships Nordics, Baltics & CEE at EIF; Željka Idžan of HBOR; and Samo Lubej, CEO of Prosperita Family Office, moderated by Dominic Maier, Partner at Atlantic Vantage Point (AVP). The panellists discussed allocation priorities in a higher-interest-rate environment, the balance between established and emerging managers, the role of ESG and sustainability as value and risk factors, and how liquidity constraints are reshaping portfolio construction. They also examined what LPs expect in terms of strategy clarity, governance and reporting from CEE-focused funds in order to commit capital to new vintages.

A hallmark of the conference is the dedicated session for emerging fund managers. This year, strategies were presented by Fil Rouge Capital, Dream Ventures, Feelsgood Capital Partners and BlackPeak Capital. In his presentation, Julien Coustaury, Partner at Fil Rouge Capital, outlined the evolution of one of the region’s most active early-stage teams. Building on that, the session highlighted new and differentiated approaches to venture and growth investing that are emerging from and into the region.

From the pan-European perspective, Dream Ventures Partner Oli Harris shared his observations from conversations with LPs over the past year: “Numerous conversations confirmed to me that macro issues, both economic and political, remain the biggest cause of paralysis in LP allocations.” His remarks resonated with participants navigating interest-rate uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and shifting regulatory frameworks, all of which influence the pacing and direction of capital flows.

Impact-focused investing featured prominently through the participation of Feelsgood Capital Partners. In a fireside chat moderated by Dr. Paul Stubbs, Emeritus Senior Research Fellow at The Institute of Economics, Zagreb, Managing Partners Renata Brkić and Domagoj Oreb discussed the firm’s approach to aligning financial performance with measurable social outcomes across Croatia and Slovenia. Their joint reflection on the event captured both the momentum and the atmosphere of the Croatian ecosystem: “Participating in CVCA events as part of Croatia’s vibrant and growing investment ecosystem feels good!” Stubbs added his own perspective on the importance of embedding broader societal objectives into investment frameworks, noting: “It is good to see the Investment Community in Croatia continuing to emphasize the importance of social and environmental impacts in all investment decisions.”

BlackPeak Capital, one of the event’s Silver Sponsors, was featured in a dedicated fireside chat with Managing Partner Niklas Pichler and Senior Investment Associate Marko Dabić, moderated by Mirna Marović. The conversation focused on their minority growth-equity strategy in Southeast Europe, including buy-and-build platforms, hands-on value creation and robust minority protections. Reflecting on the session and the event, they stated: “The conference highlighted the importance of a distinctive investment approach, providing an excellent platform to present our minority growth equity strategy that uniquely positions us within our target regions.”

The conference also included a keynote presentation by Christian Blume, Manager of Corporate Strategy & Investments at Rimac Group, on “Rimac’s Unicorn Journey: Building a strong European ecosystem of premium & luxury tech companies”. He shared insights into how Rimac has expanded from a pioneering Croatian technology company to a global innovation platform at the forefront of electrification and high-performance mobility, and how this journey illustrates the potential of Croatian and regional innovators to compete on a global stage.

Beyond the formal sessions, the format of the LP–GP Networking Event remained central to its impact. The programme included a family-office-only breakfast, held under Chatham House Rule and moderated by Virginia Mortari, which provided a confidential setting for European and regional family offices to exchange views on portfolio construction, co-investment, and intergenerational governance. A structured LP–GP speed-dating session offered pre-arranged one-to-one meetings, enabling LPs and GPs to align on strategies, sector focus and capital needs in an efficient, targeted format.

The afternoon was dedicated to showcasing Croatia’s innovation capacity through a guided visit to the Rimac–Bugatti Campus, including a presentation and technology demonstration, followed by a closing reception and gala dinner at the Okrugljak restaurant. These off-site elements reinforced the event’s ethos of combining serious, content-driven discussions with immersive experiences that bring Croatia’s entrepreneurial and industrial capabilities to life.

Several participants reflected on the significance of the event for Croatia and the wider region. From the perspective of regional family offices, Prosperita Family Office CEO Samo Lubej underlined the positioning impact of the event: “With this event Zagreb / Croatia is firmly added on Private Equity and Venture Capital map of Europe.”

The LP–GP Networking Event 2025 was organised by the Croatian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (CVCA), the national voice of private capital in Croatia. CVCA represents private equity and venture capital fund managers and investors active in Croatia and the broader CEE region, engages with policymakers, and promotes responsible investment as a driver of innovation, growth and competitiveness.

CVCA extends its sincere thanks to the Gold Sponsor, the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR), and to the Silver Sponsors – BlackPeak Capital, Feelsgood Capital Partners, Fil Rouge Capital and N Venture / N-Vision Ventures – for their continued partnership in building a sophisticated, internationally connected investment ecosystem in Croatia.

For more information about the LP–GP Networking Event 2025 programme, speakers and partners, as well as upcoming CVCA initiatives, please visit www.cvca.hr

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CVCA, which now counts 31 members – including 24 private equity and venture capital fund managers managing more than €4.5 billion in assets across Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Poland – has become one of the most active national associations in Central and Eastern Europe. SustainInvest 2025 marks a high point in its advocacy for sustainability as a pillar of long-term value creation in private capital.

“Let us not leave this evening with just ideas. Let us leave with commitments—to challenge greenwashing, to pursue transparency, to support true innovators, and above all, to ensure that purpose is not the garnish, but the core,” said Mirna Marovic, President of CVCA, in her opening remarks.

Inspiration from the gala conference dinner: where performance met purpose

Held in the elegant Emerald Ballroom of the Hotel Esplanade, the SustainInvest Gala Conference Dinner on 25 June featured a series of visionary addresses under the conference theme: “Performance Meets Purpose – Without Compromise.” Each course of the gala dinner was curated to reflect sustainability, local provenance, and responsible excellence.

Renata Brkic, Managing Partner at Feelsgood Capital Partners, the conference’s Gold Sponsor. opened the evening with a powerful message: “How we invest in today shapes the world we will live in tomorrow.”

Her remarks were followed by Alan Herjavec, Member of the Management Board at the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR), who emphasised the bank’s deep-rooted approach to sustainability: “Sustainability is not a separate objective – it is a framework for how we operate, design products, and invest. By 2029, HBOR plans to direct over one billion euros into the green transition.”

The evening’s keynote speaker, Tariq Fancy, former Global Chief Sustainability Officer at BlackRock and Lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business, drew parallels between the sustainability movement and the early days of tech investing: “We’re in a moment where hype has been stripped away – just as it was after the dotcom crash. But this is where the real work begins. Sustainability is a megatrend that will reshape every sector over the coming decades. Its current challenges aren’t signs of failure; they are the necessary growing pains of capitalism’s creative destruction. Europe has a critical role to play – especially now, when U.S. leadership is retreating. The world cannot wait. We need bold, coordinated action.”

Attendees also heard from:

• Sir Ronald Cohen, President of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG) and co-founder of Apax Partners, whose pre-recorded video urged alignment of capital with measurable social outcomes. Every participant received his book Impact: Reshaping capitalism to drive real change in Croatian translation.
• Robert Sroka, Partner at Abris Capital Partners, who reminded the audience that ESG must be linked to real value creation, not tick-box compliance.
• Louis Collet, Principal Environmental Advisor at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), who positioned ESG standards as essential tools for emerging markets transformation.
• Paul Stubbs, Emeritus Senior Research Fellow at the Economic Institute Zagreb, who reframed sustainability through the lens of equity and systemic change.
• Isabelle Canu, General Partner at Green European Tech (GET) Fund, who explored how greentech VC is driving industrial innovation.
• Danijel Višević, General Partner at World Fund, who urged that “climate innovation must meet ambition if we want to scale solutions for the planet.”

Workshop: rebuilding trust through standards and tools

The SustainInvest ESG & Sustainability Workshop, held on 26 June in Conference Room Paris, gathered practitioners for a technical session focused on ESG integration, regulatory compliance, and investor expectations. In his opening remarks, Pierre Matek, Managing Partner at Feelsgood Capital Partners, emphasised: “Feelsgood Capital Partners is an Article 9 SFDR venture capital fund with social impact, with its own methodology for measuring and evaluating the actual social contribution of our investments.”

Highlights included:

• Merilin Hörats-Beasley, Senior Sustainable Finance Expert at European Investment Fund (EIF), and Member of EU Platform on Sustainable Finance, who presented the EIF Climate Action and Environmental Sustainability Guidelines, key for GPs managing EIF-backed funds. These guidelines provide sector-specific eligibility and best-efforts allocation recommendations aligned with EU objectives.
• Erika Blanckaert, Head of Sustainability, Invest Europe, who detailed the Invest Europe ESG Reporting Guidelines (2024 Edition), including proportionality rules and KPIs for portfolio companies. Reporting is now mandatory for EIF-backed funds by April 30 annually.
• Alexander Knappe, CEO of ImpactNexus, showcased a digital ESG reporting tool endorsed by Invest Europe.
• Renata Brkic and Duro Gavran of Feelsgood Capital Partners, who led a session on Impact Investing in Practice, addressing how to measure impact effectively across venture portfolios.

The workshop was a timely response to concerns over regulatory dilution. CVCA’s leadership voiced strong criticism of recent EU developments: “SFDR was intended to fight greenwashing, not enable it,” said Mirna Marovic. “Instead of a disclosure regime, it became a labelling system that allows funds to declare Article 8 status without meaningful ESG exposure. Similarly, the EU Taxonomy has proven too complex to be usable at scale. We must reclaim the purpose of sustainability regulation: to enable real change.” She continued, noting that under current rules, financial market participants can opt out of Principal Adverse Impact (PAI) reporting unless they exceed 500 employees, undermining the goals of transparency and accountability. Pre-contractual templates have been reduced to compliance exercises—missing the point of contribution to sustainability.

A call to action

SustainInvest 2025 called on the private capital community to resist the pendulum swing away from ESG and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), and to reinforce sustainability as a driver of risk mitigation, long-term value creation, and resilient economies. In an era of rising volatility and geopolitical uncertainty, the conference urged investors to stay the course on sustainability—not as a trend, but as a fiduciary responsibility.

Organised by CVCA

SustainInvest 2025 was organised by the Croatian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (CVCA), the national voice of private capital in Croatia. With members from across Central and Eastern Europe, CVCA supports fund managers, engages policymakers, and promotes responsible finance as a tool for economic transformation.

Partners and Supporters

Special thanks to Feelsgood Capital Partners (Gold Sponsor), and to our long-standing partner the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) for its vital role in building Croatia’s investment ecosystem. Official partners of SustainInvest 2025 also included<    azs  Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE), Croatian Banking Association (HUB), Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP), CroAI, CroStartup, Bird Incubator, Smion, Narativ, Impact Nexus, and VentureXchange.

For more information and the full programme, please visit the event website:

www.sustaininvest.hr

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Croatia’s private capital market continues to mature

ZAGREB, 9 April 2025 – The Croatian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (CVCA) hosted the Venture Debt, Growth Debt, and Private Credit Business Breakfast at Hotel Esplanade Zagreb, bringing together more than 40 participants from the investment, banking, and entrepreneurial communities to explore the next frontier of alternative financing in Croatia and the broader CEE region.

The event marked another important step in CVCA’s 20-year mission to diversify and deepen Croatia’s financial ecosystem, emphasizing the role of private credit, venture debt, and growth debt as non-dilutive tools for scaling businesses and strengthening economic resilience.

In her opening remarks, Mirna Marović, President of CVCA, underlined the significance of these financing tools:

“CVCA has been at the forefront of building Croatia’s private equity and venture capital ecosystem over the past two decades. Today, as our members manage over €4 billion in assets, we are proud to actively promote the growth of venture debt, growth debt, and private credit — alternative, non-dilutive financing solutions that remain largely underdeveloped across the CEE region.”

Speaking at the event, Slađana Ćosić, Head of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group Office in Croatia, emphasized the EIB Group’s pivotal role in shaping Croatia’s alternative financing landscape:

The EIB Group, through its European Investment Fund (EIF), has committed €395 million across 14 Croatian funds and co-investments, playing a pivotal role in catalysing Croatia’s private equity and venture capital markets. Looking ahead, the development of private credit and venture debt represents a logical progression to further reinforce the country’s innovation ecosystem and support long-term, sustainable growth.

Martin Quiniou, Private Credit expert at the European Investment Fund (EIF), delivered a keynote presentation on private credit’s role in Europe’s evolving financial architecture, noting:

“Private credit has firmly established itself as an all-weather asset class, offering resilient, non-dilutive capital options particularly crucial for SMEs and growth-stage companies. With continued bank retrenchment expected, the role of flexible, risk-tolerant lenders is more important than ever.”

Wiktor Namysł and Jerzy Rozłucki, Partners at Orbit Capital, provided practical insights into the deployment of growth debt and venture debt strategies in CEE, addressing the persistent funding gaps in the scale-up stage:

“Companies in CEE raise only about half the growth capital compared to their Western peers. Growth debt is an effective solution to fuel expansion without the high cost of equity dilution, especially for technology and tech-enabled companies with strong unit economics and predictable revenues,” said Wiktor Namysł.

During a fireside chat moderated by Mirna Marović, panellists explored the myths and realities of venture and growth debt.

Martin Quiniou emphasized risk mitigation techniques such as covenants, warrants, and performance-linked structures:

“Structured properly, venture and growth debt offer attractive, risk-adjusted returns.”

Jerzy Rozłucki shared hands-on experiences from Orbit Capital’s portfolio:

“Growth debt works best when deployed proactively to fund expansion, bridge to profitability, or postpone equity dilution, ensuring founders retain control while scaling responsibly.”

The event concluded with an engaging Q&A session focused on how private credit strategies will evolve in CEE, with broad consensus that Croatia is well positioned to lead in adopting these innovative financing models.

Selected photos are available for download at the following link.

For more information about CVCA and upcoming initiatives, please visit: www.cvca.hr

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ZAGREB, 8 April 2025 – The fifth edition of BestInvest Croatia, the flagship annual conference of the Croatian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (CVCA), was held at Hotel Esplanade in Zagreb to mark two major milestones: five years of BestInvest.hr and 20 years since the founding of CVCA. The event brought together the country’s most innovative entrepreneurs and leading investors managing over €4.2 billion in capital, and recognised the best private equity and venture capital investments for 2024. BestInvest.hr 2025 once again confirmed Croatia’s position as a rising innovation hub in Central and Eastern Europe.

Six awards were presented for achievements in 2024. The award for Private Equity Investment of the Year was presented to Entrio, for the investment by Invera Equity Partners. The Venture Capital Investment of the Year award went to Orqa, for its €5.8 million seed round led by global investor Lightspeed Venture Partners. The Founder of the Year award was received by the trio behind Orqa FPV – Srđan Kovačević, Ivan Jelušić, and Vlatko Matijević. Entrio was also recognised in the Exit of the Year category, marking the successful exit by Fil Rouge Capital and the entry of Invera Equity Partners. Silicon Gardens Fund III was awarded Fundraising of the Year, having raised over €24.5 million in its first close. The prestigious Investor of the Year title was awarded to Invera Equity Partners for its strategic, hands-on approach to building portfolio companies and driving sustainable growth.

In her keynote address, Mirna Marović, President of CVCA, reflected on the 20th anniversary of the association and the evolution of the Croatian private equity and venture capital market. She highlighted that what began as a small group of risk capital pioneers two decades ago has grown into a central pillar of the Croatian economy. Today, CVCA members manage over €4.2 billion in capital targeting Croatia and the region. Private equity and venture capital funds have become the main engine of growth for some of Croatia’s most dynamic companies – those with potential for fast scaling, internationalisation, and job creation. Marović also pointed out that during record years such as 2021 and 2022, Croatian companies and founders raised over €2 billion in PE and VC investments, and despite the global downturn in 2023 and 2024, Croatia continues to lead in attracting venture capital in the CEE region. The total enterprise value of the Croatian startup ecosystem now exceeds €8 billion. “We have grown from almost nothing to a meaningful ecosystem, with real traction and increasing international credibility,” said Marović. “Private equity and venture capital are now deeply embedded in Croatian society and the economy – and this is why the motto of our conference is: Support the best and inspire the rest.”

In his remarks, Alan Herjavec, Member of the Management Board of the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR), emphasised HBOR’s role as a key institutional catalyst for private capital development. “HBOR is recognised as a central actor in developing Croatia’s capital markets, and that role is backed by clear results: so far, we have invested over €100 million of our own capital in the development of the venture capital market. In the next phase, we will invest at least that much again – with a clear goal to strengthen fund capacities, attract private capital, and enable entrepreneurs to access financing that drives growth, innovation, and resilience across the Croatian economy.”

Speaking at the conference, Slađana Ćosić, Head of  the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group Office in Croatia, highlighted the significant role the European Investment Fund (EIF) – as part of the EIB Group –  has played in developing Croatia’s venture capital and growth equity ecosystem. Through strategic initiatives such as CROGIP, CROGIP II, CVCi, CVCi II, and CEETT, launched in collaboration with HBOR and the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, the EIF has so far  committed €395 million across 14 Croatian funds & co-investments. This includes multi-country funds with strong Croatian presence and annual record of over €170 million signed in 2024. Ćosić also announced that new initiatives, including those under the Three Seas Initiative Innovation Fund, will further strengthen Croatia’s integration into the European innovation funding landscape – a key step in strengthening regional competitiveness and long-term sustainable growth.

Representing the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Prime Minister, Kristina Bilić, State Secretary at the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, addressed the audience with a message on the role of EU structural funds in building the Croatian venture capital market. She highlighted that the Ministry has committed over €115 million in EU funds to the CVCi and CVCi II programmes, which, in partnership with HBOR and EIF, have enabled the launch of Fil Rouge Capital Fund II and III, and will support two additional venture capital funds in 2025. Combined with private capital, these programmes will mobilise nearly €150 million dedicated to early-stage funding.

The event also showcased Croatia’s innovation momentum through fireside chats and presentations from high-growth companies and their investors. The first conversation featured Nenad Marovac, Founder and Managing Partner of DN Capital, in a fireside chat moderated by Mirna Marović, President of CVCA. With over 25 years of experience, Nenad leads one of Europe’s most established VC firms, which has backed 11 unicorns, and he spoke about venture capital trends and Croatia’s growing role in the European innovation ecosystem.

Davor Tremac, Co-founder and CEO of Fonoa, presented his entrepreneurial journey and the growth of Fonoa, a Croatian-founded company automating global tax infrastructure using AI, with a focus on scaling internationally from Croatia. Ivan Jelušić, Co-founder and Chief Sales Officer of Orqa FPV, then shared how the team built a world-class autonomous drone company from Osijek. Zvonimir Sedlić, Founder and CEO of Nutris, spoke about scaling a sustainable foodtech company focused on fava bean proteins and ESG-driven innovation.

After the award ceremony, the programme continued with a fireside chat featuring Slaven Kordić (Invera Equity Partners), Roger Blott (Fil Rouge Capital), and Berislav Marszalek (Entrio), moderated by Mirna Marović, discussing Entrio’s VC-to-PE growth journey. Next, Marko Galić (Provectus Capital Partners) and Suzana Škorija (Vetti Group), in a session moderated by Vladimir Nišević, explored how buy-and-build strategies are creating regional champions in veterinary care. The innovation segment concluded with Domagoj Oreb (Feelsgood Capital) and Perica Levatić (57hours), in conversation with Bernard Ivezić, sharing how purpose-driven venture capital fuels sustainable business growth.

The winners of the BestInvest.hr 2025 Awards were selected by an expert jury made up of some of the most respected professionals from Croatia’s financial, investment, and startup sectors. The jury in the alphabetic order of the surname included Hajdi Ćenan, President of CRO STARTUP; Ivana Gažić, President of the Management Board of the Zagreb Stock Exchange; Marijana Ivanov, PhD, Professor at the Faculty of Economics, University of Zagreb; Bernard Ivezić, CEO and Co-founder of Unicorn Underground; Leo Mršić, PhD, Vice Rector for Science and Research at Algebra University; Vladimir Nišević, Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Hrvatska; Tamara Perko, President of the Croatian Banking Association; Hrvoje Serdarušić, Financial Consultant at serdarusic.com; Martina Silov, President of CroAI; Velimir Srića, PhD, University Professor Emeritus and Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts; Filip Stipančić, Managing Partner of Smion; Hrvoje Stojić, Chief Economist at the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP); Goran Šaravanja, Chief Economist at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce; and Vid Zavalić, Project Manager at BIRD Incubator.

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Despite this cooling, Europe’s ecosystem has added extraordinary value over the past decade. The continent’s tech economy is now worth around $4 trillion, up from less than $1 trillion ten years ago — an indication of just how quickly innovation has become a central economic engine.

Optimism is climbing back as well: half of all respondents in Atomico’s 2025 survey say they feel more optimistic about European tech than a year ago, the highest level in years. Yet, that also means half remain unsure, reflecting persistent concerns about regulatory friction, capital scarcity at scale, and whether Europe can compete in the AI age.

One of the defining features of 2025 is the resurgence of company creation. Over 27,000 founders started companies this year — the highest number ever recorded in Europe and nearly 60% more than in 2023. Europe still contributes the largest share of global founders, although Asia has now caught up, driven by surges in India and the UAE. At the same time, more than four in five European founders continue to build on home soil, a sign that the continent’s talent engine remains strong. However, among experienced “seasoned founders,” incorporation in the US is rising — a trend tied directly to easier company formation and greater access to growth capital overseas.

In terms of unicorn creation, Europe adds 28 new unicorns in 2025, a more stable output than the explosive wave of 2021 but a sign that entrepreneurial ambition remains strong even in tougher markets. The challenge, however, is not in starting companies — it is scaling them. More than 30% of repeat founders now choose to establish headquarters outside Europe by Series C, citing fragmented regulation, restrictive labour rules, and shallow late-stage capital markets.

Deep tech has emerged as the continent’s strongest driver of investment. In 2025, 36% of all VC dollars went into deep tech — nearly double the share from four years ago. While the US continues to dwarf Europe in absolute numbers, Europe is growing an increasingly diversified deep-tech base across AI, quantum, defence, climate, and advanced infrastructure. Significant raises from Helsing, Isomorphic Labs, and European aerospace and fusion ventures reflect an ecosystem gaining technical depth and strategic importance.

Still, Europe’s capital markets continue to be a structural bottleneck. Pension funds — one of the world’s largest sources of patient capital — allocate just 0.009% of assets to venture, compared with 0.028% in the US. Matching US allocation levels would unlock an estimated $210 billion in additional European venture funding over the next decade.

This underinvestment contributes directly to Europe’s slow scaling cycle, where promising companies often look abroad for the depth of capital required to reach global dominance.

A notable detail in this year’s report is Croatia’s continued presence among Europe’s emerging tech investment hubs. While total investment levels in many smaller ecosystems declined in 2025, Croatia remains on the map of the continent’s top 30 countries by capital invested. Atomico’s data shows Croatia maintaining measurable venture activity within the $0–$200 million band, positioning it alongside regional peers in Central and Eastern Europe whose funding trends have softened amid broader macroeconomic pressures.

Although Croatia is not among the fastest-growing ecosystems this year, its consistent appearance in the rankings underscores its ongoing relevance as a developing technology market — one with room to accelerate in future cycles as regional founders, talent, and capital networks deepen.

On the policy side, regulatory complexity remains one of Europe’s thorniest challenges. Seventy percent of founders describe the continent’s regulatory environment as restrictive, pointing particularly to market fragmentation, taxation, labour rules, and slow-moving public procurement. The European Commission has proposed ambitious reforms for 2026 — including a 28th Regime for startups, the European Innovation Act, and a unified policy “launchpad” — but founders remain cautious, noting that implementation will determine whether these changes meaningfully reduce friction.

Public procurement remains one of Europe’s most underutilised levers. Only 9% of European public-sector procurement goes toward innovative solutions — far below the EU’s own 20% target. Studies cited in the report show that a one-percentage-point increase in innovation procurement can boost GDP per capita by as much as €6,000, and a five-point increase could potentially double it. Yet structural barriers and long procurement cycles continue to limit adoption of emerging European technologies.

Whether Europe can lead globally in AI and deep tech is one of the defining questions of the decade. Survey responses reveal a continent evenly split: 35% believe Europe can define its technological future, 36% do not, and 29% remain undecided. Optimism correlates strongly with belief in Europe’s AI leadership, suggesting that success in AI will shape broader perceptions of the continent’s strategic trajectory.

Atomico closes its report with a call for coordinated, founder-first reform across four missions: Fix the Friction, Empower Talent, Fund the Future, and Champion Risk. Together, these aim to build a unified, scalable, competitive European tech economy capable of producing not just hundreds of startups, but dozens of global champions. Europe now stands at a turning point — and whether it can convert talent and innovation into long-term global leadership will define the story of European tech in the years to come.

The post Europe at a Crossroads: Insights From Atomico’s State of European Tech 2025 appeared first on CVCA.

One of the defining characteristics of the 2025 cohort is the strength of proprietary technology. To qualify for the Fast 50 ranking, companies must derive the majority of their revenue from their own IP—a requirement that reveals how well they understand the market and how effectively they are responding to emerging customer needs. Deloitte’s Programme Leader highlights that these are not simply “great technology businesses, but great businesses full stop”—enterprises capable of anticipating demand before the market recognises it.

The 2025 ranking is led by Czech-based Oddin.gg, which secured first place for the second year in a row. With a staggering 4,267% revenue growth, the company continues its mission to elevate esports engagement and provide sportsbook operators with advanced, risk-reducing solutions. Its expansion into Latin America, coupled with its commitment to integrity and responsibility, solidifies its positioning as a global leader in esports infrastructure. In second place, Slovakia’s PowereX posted an impressive 2,510% growth, leveraging AI-driven systems to optimise energy flexibility and accelerate the decarbonisation of Europe’s energy infrastructure. Polish SaaS company Mizzox, growing 2,504%, completes the top three with its AI-powered accounting automation tools designed for the era of mandatory e-invoicing. These top performers highlight not only technological sophistication but also the increasing maturity of Central Europe’s tech ecosystem.

Across the full ranking, software continues to dominate with 31 entrants, followed by fintech and media/entertainment. The industry distribution underscores a broader trend: the convergence of AI, automation, and data-driven decision-making in nearly every vertical. Companies such as FaceUp Technology, Surveily, and Antigro Designer demonstrate how AI and machine learning are no longer optional upgrades but essential engines driving competitive advantage and operational efficiency. The geographic distribution is equally telling, with the Czech Republic and Poland emerging as the strongest performers, yet with noteworthy contributions from smaller markets such as Croatia, Latvia, and Estonia.

This year’s report also places a spotlight on the Companies to Watch—ten rising stars under four years old that are already defining the future of Central Europe’s tech scene. Lithuanian winner UAB Pulsetto stands out with a remarkable 5,354% growth, offering a wearable device designed to manage stress and sleep by stimulating the vagus nerve. Slovak AI-powered accounting solution Doklado follows in second place, and Poland’s bards.ai, which bridges academic AI research with real-world commercial applications, secures the third position. These companies illustrate the region’s strong commitment to R&D investment, proprietary tech development, and long-term innovation.

Adding another dimension to the 2025 landscape, Deloitte and Google Cloud introduced the inaugural AI Value Driver – CE Rocketship Innovations in GenAI Award, reflecting the fast-growing importance of generative AI in creating real-world value. The first-ever winner, Poland’s Surveily, transforms standard CCTV systems into smart safety-monitoring platforms using advanced computer vision—an innovation aimed at reducing workplace accidents worldwide. Runners-up such as bards.ai, PowereX, Flowpay, and Fluentbe demonstrate the breadth of GenAI’s application, from funding automation to scalable clean-energy solutions. As Google Cloud emphasizes, the rise of these companies signals a new generation of entrepreneurs who prioritise both commercial value and social impact.

A particularly meaningful part of the report is the Impact Stars category, which recognises companies that combine strong commercial products with positive social or environmental contributions. In 2025, 21 companies across fintech, cyber, ESG, defence, and MedTech/BioTech earned this designation. These businesses prove that technology can simultaneously address market needs and contribute to broader societal challenges, from sustainability to public health. As Deloitte’s CE Impact Leader notes, these Impact Stars showcase how young companies increasingly integrate purpose directly into their operating philosophy.

Croatia’s Growing Presence in the Central European Tech Landscape

The 2025 report reveals a notable rise of Croatia within the regional tech ecosystem, marking the country as a growing hub of innovation and high-growth companies. Croatia contributes six companies to the Fast 50 and additional representation in the Companies to Watch and Impact Stars categories—an impressive result for one of the smaller markets in Central Europe. Among the Fast 50, Croatia’s Margins (1,660% growth) and Cactus Code (1,650% growth) stand out as top-performing software firms, while hardware innovator Orqa posts 1,182% growth and further appears in the Impact Stars category for its contributions to defence technology. Other Croatian companies such as Spectral Core, Farseer, B.I.D. Grupa, and Utiliter reinforce Croatia’s position as a growing regional contender. On top of that, Croatian startup Cyber64 secures its place among the Companies to Watch, and three Croatian companies—Aircash, CircuitMess, and Devot Solutions—achieve Impact Star recognition for fintech, ESG, and MedTech/BioTech innovation. Collectively, this strong presence highlights Croatia’s accelerating shift from an emerging market to a significant contributor to Central Europe’s technology future.

Looking ahead, the report suggests that Central Europe’s technology ecosystem is poised for continued evolution. With AI adoption deepening across industries, regulatory environments shifting, and competition accelerating, the companies featured in the 2025 Fast 50 demonstrate that the region’s entrepreneurial spirit remains strong. Even amid global uncertainty, innovation, resilience, and bold ambition continue to define Central Europe’s tech sector. As more companies harness proprietary technology and expand globally, the region’s influence in the broader innovation landscape will only continue to grow.

Seeing how this momentum shapes 2026 and beyond will undoubtedly be fascinating.

The post Central Europe’s Tech Momentum in 2025: Resilience, Acceleration, and the Rise of Regional Innovators appeared first on CVCA.

Overall investment levels in CEE have continued to grow steadily, yet late-stage capital remains comparatively scarce. Dealroom underscores that while enterprise value and VC activity in the region have expanded over the last decade, on a per-capita basis CEE still remains significantly undertapped, particularly with regard to scaleup and capital-intensive deep-tech development

Late-stage funding challenges have slowed some of the growth witnessed in earlier years, mirroring broader European trends, where public-market corrections since 2022 have reset valuations and reduced the pace of unicorn creation.

Nevertheless, the resilience of CEE’s technology sector stands out. The ecosystem today reaches a combined value of €243 billion, a figure shaped by a diverse mix of enterprise software companies, hardware innovators, and growing verticals across energy, transportation, and fintech

CEE has grown faster than the European average over the past decade, supported by strong technical talent pools and a new generation of globally ambitious founders.

The report notes that more than 300 VC-backed exits have taken place in the region since 2023, with 2024 marking a record year for exit activity

This strengthening exit market signals increasing maturity, even in the face of uneven funding availability. At the same time, a significant proportion of CEE scaleups—nearly half—move their headquarters abroad as they scale, predominantly to the United States or the United Kingdom, seeking easier access to growth capital and global customers. Despite this relocation trend, most companies retain their core R&D and operational hubs within their home countries, continuing to feed economic value and expertise back into the region

In terms of industry trends, enterprise software remains the dominant segment, particularly through SaaS models that have historically enabled the region’s success due to their capital efficiency and relative ease of bootstrapping. Notably, hardware investments have increased sharply over the last three years, driven largely by transportation and energy technologies, which together raised over €2 billion since 2020

The rising geopolitical focus on defense technology has also catalyzed an emerging cluster of more than 100 defense and dual-use startups across the region—many actively contributing to Ukraine’s defense and reconstruction efforts

Gender disparity continues to be an ongoing challenge as in the broader European ecosystem. While the report does not focus explicitly on gender statistics, it mirrors wider European patterns in which women-led teams remain significantly underfunded.

Despite uncertainties, founder sentiment remains optimistic. The region has consistently produced high-performing companies that graduate to global scale, with CEE’s graduation rates from Series B onward now rivalling those of much more mature ecosystems such as the Nordics

With nearly 300 first-time funded startups per year, the region continues to replenish its innovation pipeline and expand its sectoral depth

Croatia: A Rising CEE Innovator Building on Global Success

Croatia emerges in the report as one of the notable contributors to the CEE technology landscape, continuing its trajectory from earlier years marked by landmark successes such as Infobip’s rise to unicorn status. Infobip remains one of the standout examples of a CEE-born company that has scaled globally while maintaining a strong operational base in the region, illustrating the dual-presence model common among CEE scaleups

The Dealroom report also includes Croatian-founded companies among the region’s notable exits since 2023, such as Photomath, acquired by Google, and Amodo, a telematics and insurtech company featured among CEE exit activity cohorts

These exits highlight Croatia’s ability to nurture globally relevant consumer and enterprise technology products.

Additionally, Croatia is fully integrated within the CEE ecosystem framework used by the report, alongside leading regional hubs such as Estonia, Poland, and Lithuania

The country’s presence among the scaleups and exit pipelines demonstrates continuing upward mobility for its ecosystem.

Croatia’s strength lies in several attributes: high-quality technical talent, strong engineering universities, and a growing presence of regionally active investors such as Fil Rouge Capital, one of the prominent local VC players listed in the report’s investor landscape

Coupled with the momentum from globally recognized companies like Infobip and Photomath, Croatia continues to solidify its position as a rising innovation node within CEE.

Conclusion: Steady Growth, Rising Maturity, and a Region Poised for Global Impact

As Europe enters a new period shaped by capital tightening, geopolitical pressure, and accelerated technological change, CEE remains a region defined by resilience and potential. Dealroom’s 2025 analysis captures a tech ecosystem that continues to expand despite challenges—growing in enterprise value, deepening its sectoral expertise, and steadily increasing its global footprint.

With more scaleups moving abroad for capital but keeping their core operations at home, the region’s role in global technology creation is likely to expand further. Croatia, with its mix of unicorn-level scale, successful exits, and expanding investor base, is increasingly becoming part of this broader narrative of regional ambition and global integration.

The coming years will test the adaptability of CEE ecosystems, but the foundations laid over the past decade—strong technical talent, capital efficiency, and an emerging track record of global success—position the region to continue outperforming expectations.

The post A Shifting Landscape: CEE Tech in 2024–2025 as the Region Enters Its Next Chapter appeared first on CVCA.

According to the report, total private equity and venture capital investment in Croatia reached approximately €60 million in 2024, compared with around €27 million in 2023. Over the same period, the number of Croatian companies receiving investment increased from 10 to 19, indicating a broader base of companies accessing professional capital and expertise. These investments span venture capital, growth capital and buyout transactions, with larger buyout and later-stage deals accounting for a significant share of the overall amount.

Even with this welcome growth, Croatia’s private equity and venture capital activity remains modest relative to the size of its economy. In 2024, investment in Croatia represented just 0.073% of GDP, compared with 0.112% for the CEE region as a whole and 0.551% for Europe overall. This gap underlines both the current under-penetration of the asset class in Croatia and the substantial upside potential for future deployment of private capital into Croatian companies.

However, as CVCA we must emphasise that the Croatian statistics in this edition – as in previous years – understate the true level of activity. Not all fund managers and institutional investors active in Croatia report their transactions into the European Data Cooperative (EDC), despite sustained efforts by CVCA, as the national data contributor, to make such reporting a de-facto requirement for our members. At present, participation remains voluntary, and in a relatively small and niche market like Croatia, even a handful of non-reporting managers or deals can materially distort the picture.

In addition, the methodology applied in the report does not allow certain types of investors to be classified as “private equity and venture capital”, even when they are leading transactions that are clearly comparable in size, structure and governance to classic VC or growth rounds. A prominent example is the €100 million Series A round for Verne in 2024, led by a sovereign wealth fund. Because the lead investor is not categorised as a private equity or venture capital fund under the EDC definitions, this landmark transaction is not captured in the Croatian private equity and venture capital statistics at all. The same issue can arise for some corporate investors and other strategic capital providers who are increasingly important in our ecosystem.

For policymakers, regulators, and international limited partners looking at the CEE region, it is therefore essential to read the Croatian numbers as a conservative baseline, not a complete representation of market activity. The underlying reality is that Croatia is seeing more capital, more sophisticated investors and more ambitious founders than the official figures alone would suggest. To support better-informed decision-making – including future EU-level and national policy initiatives – CVCA will continue to work closely with Invest Europe and with all fund managers investing in Croatia to improve coverage, standardise reporting and encourage all relevant investors to submit their data to the EDC on a regular basis.

As CVCA, we remain committed to raising transparency, deepening the pool of professional capital, and ensuring that Croatia’s actual performance and potential are fully visible in future editions of the CEE statistics. We invite all managers, co-investors and ecosystem stakeholders active in Croatia to join us in this effort so that the data used by European and global decision-makers truly reflects the dynamism and opportunities of the Croatian market.”

The post Croatia’s Investment Rebound in 2024: Strong Momentum, Conservative Statistics, and Untapped Potential appeared first on CVCA.

On 28 November 2025, Austrian Post signed a definitive agreement to acquire the majority ownership stake in euShipments.com. Subject to customary regulatory approvals, the closing of the transaction is expected in the first quarter of 2026. The agreement also includes an option for Austrian Post to acquire the remaining 30% stake within the next four years.

Founded in 2012 by Lora Dimitrova and Svetlozar Dimitrov, euShipments.com has developed a technology-driven business model designed to meet the complex logistics needs of online merchants operating across borders. Today, more than 1,300 online retailers rely on the company’s end-to-end solutions, which span fulfilment, domestic and international deliveries, returns management, cash-on-delivery services, IOSS and other value-added logistics services.

With a team of over 350 e-commerce specialists and more than 100% annual growth since its founding, euShipments.com is expected to generate approximately EUR 50 million in revenues across key markets including Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Slovakia. The company operates seven proprietary fulfilment and cross-border facilities in six countries and collaborates with more than 60 last-mile courier partners, offering over 800 delivery methods across Europe.

“Together with Austrian Post, we are opening a new chapter of development and growth,” said Svetlozar Dimitrov, co-founder and CEO of euShipments.com. “This strategic partnership will strengthen our regional position, expand our service portfolio and network, and enhance our operational efficiency, while continuing to serve our clients with the same entrepreneurial spirit.”

BlackPeak Capital invested in euShipments.com in 2022, partnering closely with the founders and management team to support the company’s next phase of expansion. During this period, euShipments.com underwent a significant transformation, including the opening of six new fulfilment locations, the addition of more than 40,000 square metres of operational space, and an increase in processing capacity to over one million parcels per month. The partnership also resulted in the creation of more than 300 new jobs, expansion into seven new markets, and a tenfold increase in revenues since the initial investment.

A central pillar of this growth was a targeted M&A strategy, which saw four strategic acquisitions completed in Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Slovakia. These businesses were successfully integrated into the euShipments.com platform, further strengthening the group’s regional capabilities and accelerating its scale.

“We are confident that the new chapter with Austrian Post will create numerous opportunities for euShipments.com to expand further and solidify its position as a trusted logistics partner for online merchants across Europe,” said Angel Stefanov, Partner at BlackPeak Capital.

Austrian Post is one of Europe’s established logistics groups, operating in 13 countries and serving more than 150 million consumers. The acquisition of euShipments.com aligns with its LEAD 2030 strategy to become the preferred e-commerce logistics partner across Austria, Central and Eastern Europe, Türkiye and beyond. The partnership is expected to support euShipments.com’s continued international growth while preserving its entrepreneurial culture and customer-centric approach.

The transaction represents a milestone exit for BlackPeak Capital and highlights the impact of long-term, growth-oriented partnerships between experienced founders and disciplined private equity investors focused on responsible scaling and regional leadership.

The post BlackPeak Capital exits euShipments.com as Austrian Post acquires majority stake in regional e-commerce logistics leader appeared first on CVCA.