Maribor Development Agency, the lead partner of project INTRA (programme Interreg Europe) proposed changes to the OP for implementation of the EU Cohesion Policy 2014-2020 in East Slovenia. As the result, the Ministry for Economic Development and Technology of the Republic of Slovenia prepared the Internationalisation vouchers.
Aleš Kolšek, CEO and co-owner of Rivertum:
“The voucher system helped us gain the funds needed for patent protection of our technology. Until we have our invention protected, it is not easy to present it to find investors or partners for further development, that’s why the IPR protection is so important.”
Rivertum is a micro company that has been established in 2019. Its goal is to provide cost efficient clean electric energy. In order to achieve that, they have an invention, which (they believe) will cause disturbance on the market and really make a positive difference. However, they require further investment into research and setting up a production.
In 2019 Rivertum has applied and received a voucher for a patent application, in the total worth of 3.852,24 EUR. At this early stage, when it is very difficult to attract investors and all the resources go into further development, it was especially helpful to receive funds from the voucher system.
The main effect of gaining IPR protection, thanks to the vouchers, was that now Rivertum has a better position when talking to potential investors and business partners, who take the negotiations more seriously.
