Start-up ecosystem developmentprimary
3 projects
All three projects (TransUP, SCALESCRAPERS, MY-GATEWAY) focus on building and strengthening start-up and scale-up support systems across borders.
Organization
INSTITUT ZA RAZISKOVANJE PODJETNISTVA TOVARNA PODJEMOV MARIBOR
Slovenian entrepreneurship research institute supporting CEE start-ups and scale-ups with ecosystem development, softlanding, and cross-border scaling services.
NGO / AssociationsocietySINo active H2020 projectsThin data (2/5)
H2020 projects
3
As coordinator
0
Total EC funding
€141K
Unique partners
17
What they do
Their core work
Tovarna Podjemov is a Slovenian entrepreneurship research institute based in Maribor that supports start-ups and scale-ups in Central and Eastern Europe. They specialize in building start-up ecosystems, designing support services for new entrepreneurs, and helping growth-stage companies access finance, talent, and international networks. Their work focuses on removing barriers that prevent CEE start-ups from scaling across European markets.
Core expertise
What they specialise in
Scale-up growth supportprimary
2 projects
SCALESCRAPERS and MY-GATEWAY both target helping early-stage companies grow beyond their home markets into pan-European operations.
Cross-border softlanding servicessecondary
1 project
TransUP specifically addressed softlanding — helping start-ups establish presence in foreign markets with local support services.
Innovation ecosystem capacity buildingemerging
1 project
MY-GATEWAY expanded their scope to include access to finance, procurement, knowledge transfer, and network-building for CEE start-ups.
Evolution & trajectory
How they've shifted over time
Early focus
Start-up softlanding services
Recent focus
Innovation ecosystem building
Their early work (2016-2017, TransUP) focused narrowly on practical start-up support: softlanding services, service design for entrepreneurs, and helping new founders get established abroad. By 2018 (MY-GATEWAY), their focus broadened significantly toward systemic ecosystem-building — access to finance, talent pipelines, procurement opportunities, and knowledge transfer networks. This shift suggests a move from hands-on start-up services toward designing the infrastructure that makes entire innovation ecosystems function.
Moving from direct start-up support toward designing and connecting broader innovation ecosystems, with increasing emphasis on access to finance and cross-border scaling — a valuable partner for CEE market entry projects.
Collaboration profile
How they like to work
Role: active_partnerReach: European13 countries collaborated
Tovarna Podjemov operates exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator — suggesting they contribute specialized regional knowledge rather than leading project management. Across 3 projects with 17 unique partners in 13 countries, they work in mid-to-large consortia with wide geographic spread. This pattern indicates they function as a reliable CEE node in international networks, bringing Slovenian and Central European market access to broader European initiatives.
Despite only 3 projects, they have built a notably wide network of 17 partners across 13 countries — nearly all unique collaborators. This broad reach across most of Europe suggests they are well-connected in the pan-European start-up support community.
Why partner with them
What sets them apart
Their specific value lies at the intersection of entrepreneurship research and practical start-up support in Slovenia and the broader CEE region. For any consortium needing a partner who understands the challenges of scaling start-ups out of Central and Eastern Europe, Tovarna Podjemov brings both academic grounding (as a research institute) and hands-on ecosystem experience. Maribor, as Slovenia's second city with a strong university and emerging tech scene, gives them a grounded perspective on secondary-city innovation ecosystems.
Notable projects
Highlights from their portfolio
- MY-GATEWAYTheir largest funded project (EUR 140,912), focused on boosting CEE start-up growth to pan-European level — the most ambitious scope in their portfolio.
- TransUPTheir earliest H2020 project, establishing their core expertise in transnational start-up ecosystem support and softlanding services.
Cross-sector capabilities
Innovation & SME supportDigital entrepreneurshipRegional development policyTechnology transfer and commercialization
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