At the press conference following the closing event which concluded the framework programme entitled “Smart Specialization -- Road to the Efficient Utilization of EU Funds in 2014-2020”, the Minister of State said that the BudapestHUB working group was established in September this year and includes representatives of the domestic start-up scene and experts of the Ministry for National Economy. He emphasised that the state has the role of a catalyst in the world of start-ups, as it facilitates the process.

In order to become the start-up centre of Central and Eastern Europe, spin-off enterprises need to be developed, start-up incubators established and university tutors and researchers assisted in gaining knowledge, while private business academies should be established. The incubator project aims to keep the companies afloat on the critical first period of their lifecycle – presently, only 1 of 10 firms reach their 1 year anniversary, even though the good ideas are almost abundant in the region.

Regarding funding, currently the amount of venture capital “waiting to be invested” is HUF 133bn in Hungary; however, the so-called seed capital for financing the earliest stages is still unavailable. Therefore, experts propose that a larger emphasis shall be placed on the financing of this phase of a start-up enterprise. Professionals also agreed that cutting the tax liabilities of start-up enterprises and investors are both a must.

Mr Cséfalvay stressed that according to current calculations, from HUF 700bn of 2014-2020 EU funding for research, development and innovation, some HUF 140bn can be spent on start-up eco-systems, of which amount more than one-third is expected to be non-refundable.

Traction Labs Ltd Co-Founder Péter Kádas said that the new attitude which “does not want to bring us under regulation” has been a positive experience at the BudapestHUB event. He also shared the opinion of the Minister of State of the state’s role of a catalyst within start-up eco-systems.

Some Hungarian start-ups are already internationally renowned: Prezi.com, Ustream, LogMeIn, WebcamLaboratory or Remagine Techonolgies have either opened offices in the Silicon Valley or gained substantial investments from major technology firms and trusts. This October the Hungarian Investment and Trade Agency (HITA) organised for 11 Hungarian start-ups to be present at the largest IT event in the Middle-East, the GITEX fair in the United Arab Emirates.

Source: Ministry for National Economy