Page 21 - RBI FIntech Atlas 2018

Spotlight Croatia
The most important developments in the ntech scene
in Croatia in 2018 were undoubtedly the broader acknowledgment of the sector and its companies and the organisation of two ntech conferences at the end of the year, Future of FinTech and Shift Money. This was the rst time that the entire regional ntech sector, including players from neighbouring Slovenia and Serbia, was present in Zagreb.
Around 15 ntechs are headquartered in Croatia and most of these provide software and platforms for nancial institutions. In 2018 banks also started to promote the fact that they were developing their own nancial technology rather than working with global ntechs. However, only the ve to ten biggest banks have truly focused on digital transformation.
The biggest challenge for ntechs in Croatia is the war for technical talent. This is being driven by both the growth of technology companies such as Infobip and Rimac Automobili and the digital transformation of
Skyline of Zagreb, Croatia
traditional companies, which has reduced the amount of talent on the market. Most ntechs are based in Zagreb because the capital city has the largest pool of specialist employees. There are no local incentives for the ntech ecosystem or ntech hubs. In addition to this, research by the IT Section of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce shows that Croatia lags far behind the EU average in terms of government support for the IT sector in general.
Early-stage startups are mostly nanced by accelerators and incubators. ABC accelerator, FRCM Accelerator, Start-up Factory Zagreb, Zip Incubator and BIOS Incubator Osijek are amongst the examples of investors based in
the country. The most important ntech transaction in terms of nancing in Croatia in 2018 was a €5.2M investment in PhotoMath, a math app developed by the ntech company Microblink as a means of showcasing its technology.
Total bank assets (€ Bn) 53 Total bank assets / GDP (%) 110 Account ownership (% of population) 86 Debit card ownership (% of population) 68 Internet usage (% of population) 67 Usage of internet to pay bills (% of population) 45 Send/received digital payments (% of population) 83
Latest available data as of 2017/2018
Source: ECB, national sources, World Bank, RBI/Raiffeisen RESEARCH
Country data
Population (M)
GDP total (€ Bn)
GDP per capita (€, at PPP) GDP growth (%)
Of cial currency
Source: Eurostat, IMF, European Commission, RBI/Raiffeisen RESEARCH Data for 2018, estimates
4.1 51 17,700 2.6 HRK
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