Minister Habijan: Croatia will have a pavilion at the Web Summit in Lisbon for the first time

The Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation and the Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK) have signed an agreement that will provide domestic technology companies with a strategic appearance at one of the world's largest technology conferences

Minister Damir Habijan and President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy Luka Burilović signed Cooperation Agreement today a establishing the institutional and financial framework for the organisation of the national pavilion at the Web Summit in Lisbon in 2026.
 
This initiative aims to enable the Croatian ICT sector to enter the global market and connect with key investors and international partners.
 
During the signing ceremony, Minister Habijan stressed the importance of the Croatian ICT sector, which has almost 45,000 employees and about 8,000 companies. He stressed that the appearance at such fairs is an opportunity to establish new partnerships, but also to lobby for the interests of Croatia.
 
‘It is extremely important that Croatia has a national pavilion for the first time at the Web Summit in Portugal. Given their recognised and innovative work, for companies seeking investment are offered crucial support by the HGK as well as the state and competent ministries in order to successfully penetrate the international market. They are currently getting a strong wind at their backs from institutions, ministries and the Government itself’, said Minister Habijan.

Within the established framework, 18 companies, startups and scale-ups will be selected to represent Croatia in Lisbon. The selection will be based on expert pre-selection and evaluation by expert teams.

‘This will be the first appearance of this kind with the institutional support of the state, but I am sure it is not the last one’, concluded the Minister, thanking the HGK for its cooperation in this project, which represents a strategic investment in the internationalisation of the Croatian digital economy.

Croatia will present itself at the Web Summit as an innovative and competitive digital economy, which will further strengthen the position of domestic technological solutions on the global scene.

President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy Luka Burilović pointed out that with this public call and national pavilion we are nurturing a culture of innovation in our economy and society.

‘If any branch of the economy is the starting point for the development of such a culture, it is IT. Innovation and agility are part of their genetic code. I invite companies to contact us with their products and solutions. This is a crucial moment for their positioning on the international scene and attracting serious external capital, both because of the importance of the conference in Lisbon, but also because of the institutional support that comes with the appearance at the national pavilion," said HGK President Luka Burilović.

Burilović pointed out that Croatia has innovative and globally competitive IT companies and that it is the task of the institutions to create the conditions for their strengthening, and for reaffirming Croatia as a relevant actor in the global digital and technological ecosystem.

The Web Summit is one of the largest and most influential technology conferences in the world, which is held every year in Lisbon and brings together key players of the global digital economy.

The fair will be held from 9 to 12 November 2026. The national pavilion will be spread over 54 m² and will feature up to 18 start-ups/scale-ups. They will be selected on the basis of a public call, which is open until 22 May. The final decision on who can participate is made by the organiser of the summit. The public call is available HERE.

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