Startup Safari opens its doors again in April ’25

The Startup Safari Budapest, which was started in 2015, is one of the biggest startup conferences in Hungary and opens its doors every year, with nearly 100 presentations and interactive programmes at 13 venues, where you can meet and ask questions live with international speakers as well as several Hungarian experts. The event will cover not only business issues but also deeper technology and innovation topics, both in English and Hungarian.

The Startup Safari is an international event launched in 2012 with the main objective of introducing the world of startups in a real working environment. The conference series has already reached many cities around the world, including Rome, Baku, Amsterdam, Paris and Berlin, and Budapest will again offer the opportunity to meet face-to-face and share knowledge after the hybrid format of the past years. The 13 thematic routes will feature coworking offices and partner institutions such as Create26, Loffice, BME + Corvinus, Start it @K&H, ELTE GTK, STRT, NIÜ and Kliq Coffice.

The main themes of the event will focus on the financing and business environment of the Startup ecosystem and how it is changing. Therefore, current international and domestic funding opportunities and well-established business model changes will be highlighted. In addition to venture capital investments, other alternative sources of funding will be discussed, with speakers from MFOI, Creative Europe and various EIT industry programme leaders such as EIT Culture and Creativity, EIT Health, EIT Digital and GreenBrother (the Hungarian partners of EIT InnoEnergy and Urban Mobility). In addition, most of the representatives of the Hungarian incubator scene and some international actors, as well as key players in the crowdfunding market, will give an informative presentation on current funding opportunities.

The explicit aim of the event is not only to present the same examples and the same actors that are repeated over and over again, but also to discuss the real issues of the current situation with those who can present the best and most recent practical cases.

The Startup Safari, in cooperation with Startup Hungary, Design Terminal, NIÜ, HSUP, OUVC, will focus on exploring how the Hungarian startup world looks like and how it is positioned internationally, but of course we will also hear many inspiring stories that will help us understand the strengths and opportunities for those who are about to start up and those who are already comfortable in the startup scene.

Through the presentations and speakers, you can get a behind-the-scenes look and stories of companies such as Blockchain and DigitalTech EDIH, Veszprém-Balaton 2023, 22.design, IseeQ, Budapest Enterprise Agency, Digital Thinkers, DATAIT, MindOne and many others. You can also get to know the innovators of the next generation, as Eötvös Loránd University and Corvinus University of Budapest will also be present: you can participate in ELTE-HSUP Innovation and Pitch Event, Innovation Lab, but also hear exciting panel discussions about successful university spin-offs and university start-ups in the Danube region.

 As the event’s main sponsor, OXO Thechnologies Holding will be hosting a public board meeting, and participants will also be able to listen to interesting discussions with Petya Balogh, Zoltán Györkő, László Hradszki, Péter Csillag and Balázs Szabó on the OXO CoffeeBreak live podcast.

Of course, visitors can also meet the most important players in the startup ecosystem, the investors, for example in the Reverse Pitch program, where the “dice are turned” – when investors stand in front of startups to present their opportunities, strengths and advantages. In addition, at Safari, entrepreneurs and start-ups will have the opportunity to meet investors and financial professionals in person during speed mentoring sessions organised by MBH Fintechlab and STRT. The workshops will also offer a highly interactive knowledge-sharing experience, with help in understanding their own business processes, practical tips on many useful topics from product development to marketing, but also a strong focus on self-awareness and personal skills development, as well as mental health through the Self University, Inspiring Culture and Life Tech Balance programmes.