ArtDivision — R&D Financing & Market Internationalisation

The challenge

ArtDivision is a Croatian IT company with an existing product portfolio and ambitions for both R&D investment and international market expansion. They faced two related but distinct challenges. The first was understanding what R&D funding options were available and realistic for their profile — a growing company with interesting technology but without the internal capacity to navigate the complex landscape of EU and national R&D financing instruments. The second was developing a structured understanding of where their existing solutions could find new market niches internationally, and what pathways to internationalisation were realistic given their current stage of development.

Both challenges required an external perspective that combined knowledge of the financing landscape with genuine understanding of how technology products are positioned and sold in international markets.

What we did

For the R&D financing project, we conducted a detailed analysis of the available financing instruments — including EU-level programmes, national R&D funding schemes, and private financing options — and assessed each against ArtDivision’s profile, project pipeline, and organisational capacity. The output was a prioritised map of financing opportunities, with a clear recommendation on which instruments to pursue and in what sequence, and a structured concept for the R&D project that would form the basis of the funding application.

We are currently supporting the development of that application — structuring the innovation concept, developing the impact logic, and preparing the documentation required by the relevant programme.

For the internationalisation analysis, we examined ArtDivision’s existing portfolio against the needs and characteristics of potential target markets — mapping where the company’s solutions could address documented needs in sectors or geographies where they were not yet present. This involved both desk research on market characteristics and regulatory environments, and a structured analysis of the competitive positioning of the company’s products relative to alternatives available in those markets. The output was a set of concrete recommendations on priority market niches and entry strategies.

In parallel, we have also supported ArtDivision with a ZNS (progress report) for an ongoing IT project, ensuring compliance with programme requirements and documentation standards.

Outcome

R&D financing map delivered. Application in development. Internationalisation analysis completed, informing market entry strategy. ZNS compliance support ongoing.