PITCH COMPETITION for Croatian Green Start-up and Scale-up Companies
Objavljeno: 27. 06. 2025.
Invitation to join the PITCH COMPETITION for Croatian Green Start-up and Scale-up Companies
PITCH COMPETITION took place on September 10th at the Support Sustainability 2025 conference in front of our investment jury and audience, and the winners were:
ECOcube - in The Best Green Start-up Category
Project O2 - in The Best Green Scale-up Category
Congratulations to the winners and all finalists who demonstrated a high level of innovation in addressing challenges for a sustainable future!
The six finalists were selected in strong competition from 24 submitted projects – take a look at the projects that made it to the finals:
The Best Green Start-up Category
ECOcube - a Sustainable Floating Collection Center for Black Water and
Solid Waste from Vessels
ECOcube is an autonomous floating waste collection station designed for marinas, ports, national parks, and charter zones. It enables sailors to legally and safely discharge black water and deposit solid waste from vessels, solving a major environmental challenge in nautical tourism. The station is solar-powered, vacuum-based, and built from recycled and natural materials. It does not require infrastructure and can be deployed in sensitive or remote marine areas.
Each unit has a storage capacity of 8,000 L for black water and eight 800 L compartments for sorted solid waste (plastic, glass, PET/MET, general). The system is monitored remotely via a digital platform that tracks fill levels and usage. ECOcube reduces pollution, simplifies waste handling, improves guest satisfaction, and strengthens ESG positioning for users.
Currently validated in real conditions, the next step is industrial scaling and deployment in pilot networks. We aim to make ECOcube the new standard in sustainable marine waste management.
Luxyon
We design our solar devices by "printing" photoactive materials onto thin and flexible materials. By using cutting-edge thin film deposition technology, we can achieve ultra-thin photoactive films and consequently lightweight and flexible solar cells. We plan to integrate our solutions into fixed-wing drones as our initial market because we can increase their flight time by 50-90%. We also plan to expand into other markets with our technology, such as agriculture or consumer electronics.
NanoWeaver
https://www.linkedin.com/company/nitko/?viewAsMember=true
NanoWeaver is a portable medical device that uses electrospinning to apply a biodegradable, sterile nanofiber membrane directly onto wounds, burns, or skin injuries.
Designed to replace traditional bandages and reduce medical waste, the device supports fast, hygienic wound care in clinical, field, and home settings.
The project aims to scale the current prototype to a certified, EU-manufactured product, advancing both green healthcare and European technological autonomy.
Its dual market approach (B2B and B2C) includes hospitals, military units, and individual users, offering sustainable wound care wherever it's needed – from operating rooms to remote or emergency environments.
The Best Green Scale-up Category
CLIMATIG
CLIMATIG is a digital platform that assesses long-term climate risks (e.g. floods, droughts, wildfires, heatwaves) at high spatial resolution. It uses downscaled climate models, geospatial analytics, and AI to provide interactive, address-level insights across Europe and North America. Our clients include insurance companies, real estate stakeholders, and public institutions seeking to incorporate climate adaptation strategies.
Project O2
Project O2 is a tech-driven reforestation initiative focused on restoring degraded and hard-to-reach land across Europe using drones and biodegradable SeedBombs. By combining ecological science with scalable technology, we accelerate forest regeneration while engaging governments, companies, and local communities. Our hybrid model blends corporate ESG partnerships, public-sector collaboration, and digital voucher sales, making reforestation accessible, measurable, and financially sustainable.
VeeMee: Climate-Smart Marketplace for Local Producers
VeeMee is a digital platform that connects small food producers with consumers and retailers through a transparent, commission-free marketplace. The project aims to upgrade the platform into a centralized hub for local food production — making it easier for buyers to discover, connect with, and trust local producers. Key upgrades include smarter traceability (PID), multilingual access, educational content, and impact analytics to reduce food waste and emissions. We are also organizing producers into coordinated production groups and co-developing new product lines tailored to retail demand. Our goal is to scale a fair, inclusive, and climate-positive food system across Croatia and the EU.
When choosing the finalists among 24 quality projects, we were guided by the principles of uniqueness (innovation), financial potential, scalability, sustainability potential and geographical application.
Details of the Pitch Competition Call and criteria can be found here:
Invitation to join the PITCH COMPETITION for Croatian Green Start-up and Scale-up Companies
The Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK) is delighted to invite the Croatian Startup Community to join its first pitch competition for Croatian Green Start-up and Scale-up companies and present projects at the „Support Sustainability 2025“ conference.
Eligible to apply
Eligible to apply are all Start-up and Scale-up companies developing green innovative technological, product or service solutions in the areas of renewable energy, recycling and reuse, circular design and production, waste disposal, water and marine, biodiversity and ecosystems, pollution, sustainable agriculture, mobility, climate, and built environment/construction.
The competition will be organized as an integral part of the “Support Sustainability 2025” conference on September 10 in Zagreb (Lauba).
Pre-selected best projects
Pre-selected best projects from the Green Start-up category and the Green Scale-up category will have the opportunity to compete live through THE PITCH COMPETITION at the conference, win valuable awards, gain media visibility, and receive comments and suggestions for increasing investment readiness from an expert jury made up of foreign and domestic investment experts.
Winners in the categories of The Best Green Start-up and The Best Green Scale-up announced at the PITCH COMPETITION will each receive the following rewards:
- A financial award of 5.000 EUR.
- A study visit to Japan, including organized meetings with Japanese ESG Funds and an opportunity for additional access to financing their projects (return airfare and hotel accommodation during the study visit will be covered for 1 representative of each winning team in two categories).
- Investment readiness suggestions for improvement and an opportunity for additional access to financing their projects through the expert jury's network of contacts and specialized ESG Project Funds.
Who can apply:
- All Green/CleanTech technological, product or service solutions are welcome, within the themes of renewable energy, recycling and reuse, circular design and production, waste disposal, water and marine, biodiversity and ecosystems, pollution, sustainable agriculture, mobility, climate, and built environment/construction.
- Open to Croatian companies in their Start-up and Scale-up phase of development (pre-revenue, breakeven and post-revenue) that have so far received less than 5 million EUR total investment. Preferable Technology Readiness Level is TRL 5 – TRL 8, but we will consider other maturity levels.
Pre-Selection Criteria:
The Advisory Board will use the following criteria to assess your company’s and project’s investment readiness:
- Is there clarity about the stage of growth of the business and the level of funding being sought?
- Is this a viable, sustainable, innovative and defendable technology/product/service which is scalable and responds to market demand?
- Is there a commercially viable business model and plan?
- Is the team ready and capable of developing this project as a viable business?
- Is this project/business likely to contribute to the Green economy i.e. make a difference to energy/waste/buildings/carbon reduction etc. for the broader benefits of society? We are looking for a clear demonstration of environmental impact.
Criteria for Success:
Your application to the PITCH COMPETITION will stand out if your solution directly contributes to meeting climate targets, whether it's through lowering energy consumption, reducing transportation emissions, or developing climate resilience.
If selected, you will be required to:
- Send a Pitch Deck in English (max. 10 slides) by September 3, 2025, to esg@hgk.hr
- Attend a PITCH COMPETITION and pitch in English (5 minutes) in front of the Investment Jury Board and audience at the “Support Sustainability 2025” conference held in Zagreb (Lauba) on September 10, 2025 (time schedule TBC). Q&A with the Investment Jury Board will take place after the pitch (5 minutes).
Apply Here:
Please fill out the application form for the PITCH COMPETITION in English with details about your Start-up/Scale-up and the innovative solution you are proposing.
Application Deadline: Monday, July 28, 2025 (23:59 CET), but we encourage you to apply earlier if possible.
Timeline overview:
- June 30, 2025 – Launch: PITCH COMPETITION Call
- July 28, 2025 – Application deadline (23:59 CET)
- August 27, 2025 – Decisions for pre-selected best projects
- September 3, 2025 – Pitch Deck submission deadline (23:59 CET)
- September 10, 2025 – PITCH COMPETITION at the “Support Sustainability 2025” conference & awards
For inquiries, please contact:
Croatian Chamber of Economy
Sector for Industry and Sustainable Development
Contact person: Ms. Ana Marinović
Tel: +385 1 456 1685
Email: esg@hgk.hr
This is more than a competition; it's a launchpad for your visionary green venture. Submit your application and propel your startup to international recognition with our support!
Supporting documents: