(Editor’s note: This Tech Tuesday post on Split is part of a series looking at Europe’s emerging tech centers. If you have a suggestion or recommendation, ping us at: [email protected])
Split is Croatia’s second largest city which thrives within the ancient walls of Roman Emperor Diocletian’s palace. Surrounded by sun drenched islands and lapped by the Adriatic, the city is synonymous with the Mediterranean climate that lures Vitamin D-deprived northern Europeans each summer. Making more headlines for expensive ice cream than for tech, the tide is turning for this coastal gem.
Embryonic ecosystem
Among the strongest players in this turn towards tech is Split Tech City, a Mediterranean Tech Hub that describes itself as “being dedicated to connecting and promoting Split’s tech community and encouraging its development.”
Offering content on Split’s startups, co-working spaces, digital nomads and internationals, Split Tech City was founded in 2010 and is the first formal association bringing together players within the city’s tech community. This includes startups and individuals, as well as associations and institutions involved in positioning Split on the growing European tech map.
It has to be said that Split’s tech and startup ecosystem isn’t as advanced as those elsewhere in Croatia – and that’s not owing to a lack of passion or drive.
It’s because of one thing – tourism.
Tourism both frees and shackles Croatia. It allows it to make money in a way that has been traditional for decades, but it also cements a certain reputation. It means that global eyes struggle to have any other impression of it. The closer a destination is to the land of hotels and private apartments, the more difficult it is to alter this perception.
New initiatives
Split isn’t at Zagreb’s level for this reason, but it won’t be long before it catches up. In addition to Split Tech City, other initiatives have sprung up – such as Digitalna Dalmacija (Digital Dalmatia). Digitalna Dalmacija was the first Dalmatian startup acceleration programme to provide the region’s startup scene with a spring in its step through education, mentoring and ultimately – capital.
Croatian salary increases will only aid in Split’s positioning on the startup map. Still not at the level of certain European countries, basic salaries for engineers and those working on the software and tech scene in Croatia are now firmly over 1,000 euros per month, with many earning far more.
Increased international presence in the form of talented digital nomads, EU funding and more is also helping to cork the exodus from the region.
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See more about Split here in Dispatches’ archives.
Lauren Simmonds
Lauren Simmonds is the editor of Total Croatia News, the largest English language portal in Croatia. She lives in Zagreb, Croatia, and is a translator, content writer, interpreter and the co-author of "Croatia - A Survival Kit for Foreigners," which was published in 2022.
