The FINNO 2026 – EEN Access to Finance Forum was successfully held on March 18, 2026, at Hotel Vučko on Olympic Mountain Jahorina, near Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The event brought together representatives from both academic and non-academic communities—primarily SMEs and their associations—to explore funding opportunities across various schemes supported by different organisations and networks.
The forum was organised by ONEX Digital Innovation Hub Banja Luka, in close cooperation with the Delegation of the European Commission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, Business Incubator Novi Sad, the Innovation Center at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Belgrade, the Mihajlo Pupin Institute (Belgrade), the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Jožef Štefan Institute (Ljubljana), RRA PODRAVJE Maribor, the University of Maribor, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje (North Macedonia), and the Economic Chamber of North Macedonia.
The audience represented both academic and non-academic sectors, with strong participation from innovative start-ups and companies, demonstrating a high level of engagement throughout the event.
The three day event aimed to raise awareness on the following topics:
- Access to finance for SMEs in the Western Balkans
- European and international financing instruments
- Venture capital, business angels and alternative finance
- Investment readiness and bankable project development
- Financing digitalisation, innovation and Industry 4.0 solutions
- Bridging policy, finance and SME needs through trusted intermediaries
- Cross-border cooperation and regional investment opportunitiesSee you at FINNO 2026 Regional Conference!
The event served as a valuable platform for capacity building and networking, fostering cross-sectoral connections and laying the groundwork for future collaborations.
Dr. Dalibor Drljača, Regional Liaison Officer of the GLOPOL Project for the Western Balkans, participated in the first panel following the keynote: Panel 1: Access to Finance – Instruments Available for SMEs Today. The panel also featured Anja Nagel (European Commission, DG ENEST), Florentin Gusmini (European Investment Fund / EIB Group), Jelisaveta Ilić (Tisalytics Bio, Serbia), and Isaak Trajković (EEN Serbia).
The discussion focused on existing funding initiatives supporting SMEs and start-ups through various financial schemes. Dr. Drljača highlighted Horizon Europe funding opportunities, emphasizing options available to SMEs within MSCA institutional programmes, including MSCA Staff Exchanges, COFUND, and MSCA Doctoral Networks.
During the B2B meetings, Dr. Drljača engaged with representatives from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), several start-ups from the Western Balkans, and university representatives to explore potential collaboration opportunities.
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