Check out interviews with people who came back and are shaping the ecosystem

• Michaela from Princeton University, now Chief Innovation Officer at the Government Office of the Slovak Republic
• Matej, who lived in the US, now CEO at Vacuumlabs software house
• Peter, bringing experience from Israel and Estonia, now Partner at Civitta innovation advisory
• Samuel, after gaining experience in Ireland came back to Slovakia to strengthen  the scientific community
• Vladimír, who is an Oscar and BAFTA winning visual effects artist, started his own online VFX school
• Simona and Marek, who worked abroad in Belgium and Germany decided  to come back to Slovakia and started a successful startup
• Martina studied at Harvard and she came back to Slovakia to work for the government, specifically focusing on the Recovery and Resilience Plan

We recommend you get in touch with the following initiatives & organizations

• Analytical Body for Digital and Development Policies is a specialised organizational unit of regional development and informatization of the Slovak Republic
• Bratislava Metropolitan Institute is a conceptual institute in the field of architecture, spatial planning, participation, and strategic planning
• Campus is a coworking space in two places in Bratislava 
• Challenger is a non-equity startup acceleration program
• Civitta is a startup advisory and innovation hub
• Creative Industry Košice is a non-profit organisation, that deals with the support and development of culture and the creative industry
• Crowdberry is an investment platform enabling private investors to invest directly in specific companies and real estate
• Dobrý kraj aims to improve socio-economic conditions in Banská Bystrica region
• Eastcubator is a coworking space in Košice
• Healthcare Lab is an international acceleration program for early-stage digital healthcare ventures
• HubHub is a coworking space in Bratislava
• Kempelen Institute of Intelligent Technologies is an independent, non-profit institute dedicated to intelligent technology research 
• Košice 2.0 aims to support innovative and experimental projects in the field of sustainable urban development
• Recovery and Resilience Plan aims to support reforms and investments that will enable Slovakia to start catching up with the EU average again
• Slovak Alliance for Innovation Economy is a non-profit platform for policy debate on topics of digital and knowledge economy
• Slovak Global Network creates tools and opportunities to connect communities, companies, non-profit organisations, and engaged people – Slovak citizens at home and abroad
• The Spot is a coworking space in Bratislava
• Trenčín 2026 summarises initiatives that Trenčín is undergoing as the European capital city of culture for 2026

For more information click here: innovateslovakia.sk/en/ecosystem/

If you are looking for an interesting job in startups & innovation, check out

• Growni is a platform that is connecting young people to interesting projects in Slovakia 
• Pretlak is a modern job portal with an overview of current jobs for designers, marketers, developers, and creatives
• Profesia is an online job platform offering the widest selection of open job positions in Slovakia

Here are some job openings in startups

• Vectary has a job opening for several remote positions
• Luigi’s Box has job openings in different countries
• GroupSolver is looking to strengthen its team in Slovakia and the USA
• Saferpass has open positions for DevOps Engineer/AWS/Node.JS/Docker
• Vacuumlabs is looking for people for positions in a number of different departments
• YourLOX is looking for a Front-End Developer
• Seasy has an open position for UI/UX Designer  
• Photoneo has different open positions in multiple countries 
• Powerful Medical is looking for a Legal Counsel
• Diagnose.me is looking for a Business Development Manager

Startup ecosystem organizations are offering different possibilities for employment

• Civitta is looking for people to fill positions in startup consulting
• Crowdberry currenly has a number of different positions open

Government Office is looking for

• Research and Innovation Policy Analyst 
• Analyst for Insitute of Digital and Development Policies

Research & Innovation

• SOVVA is looking for a Project / Financial Manager

Cities

• City of Bratislava is looking to fill a number of different positions

There is a lot of support and programs available for founders aimed at incubating and accelerating startups. Many of them can be of great help and stepping stones for your business growth. They can provide you with great mentors, office space, access to investors, or even invest in your business.

However, as a founder, you should be busy building your team and product (often on top of your regular job) and not attending every event, training, or incubation program that you see. 

At https://innovateslovakia.sk/ecosystem/, we curated the best support programs and go-to organizations based on your startup phase.

If you have an MVP or prototype and want to scale and find investors check out Challenger Accelerator or Perry Talents.

There are also programs dedicated to startup needs in specific sectors, e.g., HealthCareLab for digital health startups, Lifbee for biotech, Fintech Hub for fintech startups, or Challenger Urban: Creative aimed at startups working in creative industries or city challenges. 

You can also take advantage of university infrastructure and their incubation programs. We recommend the incubator at STU (InQb) in Bratislava, Startup Center at TUKE in Košice, or UNIZA incubator in Žilina.

In multiple cities in Slovakia, there is also the National Business Center that runs multiple programs for entrepreneurs and can provide you with some specific experts. If you are looking for loan financing check out the program for starting entrepreneurs at Slovenská Sporiteľňa. 

For social innovation, check out the program Generácia 3.0 by Pontis.

Slovakia is standing with Ukraine and is prepared to offer help to Ukrainians fleeing the war. We support startups and organizations that are doing their part by offering free services, workspaces, and other solutions for the affected Ukrainians. 

There are technological and innovative companies operating in Slovakia that are offering help to the government of the Slovak Republic and selected state institutions with managing the humanitarian consequences of the Russian invasion to Ukraine. In addition to the initiator, Vacuum Group, there are other companies joining, such as Civitta, SAPIE, Pixel Federation, Deutsche Telekom, GymBeam, Neulogy Ventures, Campus Cowork, Fintech Hub Slovakia, Sudolabs, Lumus Investment Collective, Slovakia.Digital, freevision, 365.bank, Profesia, Kontentino, Taylor & Wessing, Vestberry, Softec, Accenture, Kiwi.com, O2, or companies associated with Košice IT Valley (Matsuko, Epam, Slovakia IT, VSL Software, AfB Social & Green IT, CREATIVE PRO).

There are several organizations that are offering their help to Ukrainians

#KtopomôžeUkrajine is an online platform that covers various forms of assistance to citizens of Ukraine who are forced to leave their homes and come to Slovakia. Every Slovak citizen can offer help, whether it’s accommodation, transport, material or social support, or others. The platform is trying to build a strong network of individuals as well as organizations ready to help the citizens of Ukraine, and connects them directly to the people in need.

Spolu pre Ukrajinu is a help package for the citizens of Ukraine by Slovenská sporiteľňa. They offer various products and services free of charge for Ukrainian citizens. Among these products and services are for example temporary cancellation of certain fees, placing additional ATMs near Vyšné Nemecké border crossing, or free of charge account for a year. 

Growni is a platform that is a part of a non-profit organization LEAF, covering many different ways how Slovak people can help Ukrainians. Through this platform, Slovaks can offer help in the following ways: volunteering and humanitarian aid, counselling, and psychological help. People can find information about where they can donate money, and what else is important to follow in connection to the war in Ukraine – disinformation, media, and education.

The Spot is offering first-month free rent for the Ukrainian citizens.