It is not exaggeration to say - but it is a matter of pride - that the startup ecosystem of Debrecen is one of the most mature rural towns in Hungary. This year, the local innovative community has made a great step. Let’s see the startup ecosystem of Debrecen in 2019 in terms of results and numbers.
Ecosystem events:
Organized by Innonic, AcademyTalk helped the local ecosystem self-develop 23 times, including several English-language events, strengthening the city's international profile.
The Business Conversation Club at American Corner, which began to cover an important gap in the local ecosystem in 3 occasions, served to strengthen international mindset.
The Startup Campus have hubs on Berlin, London and other cities on whole of teh world.
DebTech was held on 5 separate occasions, with a total of 17 speakers sharing their experiences with the public. In addition, members of Debrecen's most experienced #tech community have helped developer self-training DevDeb and Beer-Solution events to get started.
The Business & Beer inspired us for 4 events, thanks to them we welcomed #highlevel performers around the city, such as Kristóf Gál (Klikkmarketing) or Zsolt Kelliár, founder of Talentuno, a record-breaking investment.
Alongside the B&B, László Süvöltős was associated with the organization of the first - but probably not the last - Data Flow Data-Driven Business Management Conference, which launched business tourism to the city from Budapest.
One of the #headliners in the city's entrepreneurial community is the Creative Lines led by Barna Nagy, who this year launched a series of "business inspiration" events to help build the local ecosystem.
Creative Tuesday brought a total of 21 cutting edge entrepreneurs to the city at 7 events.
But this is not the only thing that is new: a few months ago, the LeanCoffee talk show has launched.In the InputProgram and IgenDebrecen! trainings, 40+ idea hosts have been given ammunition to get started by qualified trainers and mentors to become the next generation of startups.
Last but not least, this year, for the fifth time, the largest domestic startup event outside Budapest, the Startup Week, was held. Startup Campus and CSR Debrecen provided an opportunity for students, through investors and innovative companies to introduce themselves and network in one week.
Investments
According to a summary conducted in September, Hiventures has invested $ 2.5 billion in startups based in Debrecen.
Add to this, the Startup Campus portfolio of 10+ startups and placements in other venture capital funds (such as Széchenyi Equity Fund) and Innonic, which has been operating as an investor this year, well above $ 3 billion. landed in a local ecosystem.
If we add that Insimu, as the first startup in Debrecen, has won the trust of an English investor, FoundersFactory, and "brought home" £ 250.000 this fall, we can see that the local startup ecosystem has now become a major financial factor.
Digital Footprint and Podcast Panorama
The digital footprint of the ecosystem has also grown significantly. Several local and national portals have reported on local events and startup successes, but stand out from the StartUp Magazine, which has published more than 20 times in the last six months news about Debrecen. On top of that, a very popular formula, #podcast, has been introduced in the city this year. Innonic shares its #ecommerce experience with the world in 7 broadcasts, 237 minutes, and on the DebTech Podcast has been broadcasting 5 major broadcasts of the #techie world in 300 minutes since August. Of course, let's not forget the offline world as well: local professionals have been presenters in Miskolc, Pécs, Győr and Budapest to meet other ecosystem players and enhance the city's reputation.
Awards
The success of local start-ups is not only recognized locally, but also recognized by national and even international organizations.
In the last weeks of the year, news came that Xeropan, a local startup that develops a "pocket language teacher" application, won the Northern Great Plain Innovation Award in this year.
Dyntell Software of Debrecen, with a 2537% increase (!!!), became the fastest growing Hungarian technology company in the Central European region this year and took out overall sixth rank in the #DeloitteTechnologyFast50 competition!
The founder of Innonic, Csaba Zajdó was awarded the title of Young Entrepreneur of the Year by FIVOSZ.
BitNinja won the Innovative Brand by Magyar Brands.
Bandmap, which develops Linkdn for the music industry, won two awards for the Startup Night: the Debrecen team won the 2019 Startup Europe Awards Hungary MUSIC category and the 10th Be Smart Startup Competition. This year's 17-year-old Creative Lines Marketing Diamonds recognized 9 KV brands and won 7 categories of the Year Website. Where do you think the local ecosystem should evolve in 2020?
Hungarian version HERE.
