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Hungary Aims to Become a Central European Innovation Powerhouse

Speaking at 0100 Emerging Europe 2025, László Bodis, Deputy State Secretary for Innovation and CEO of the Hungarian Innovation Agency, emphasized Hungary’s ambition to evolve from a promising startup scene into a true innovation powerhouse. The country already boasts a strong scientific foundation — ranking 11th globally in Nobel laureates per capita — but struggles to turn research into scalable ventures.

According to Bodis, four pillars are key to accelerating the ecosystem: education, institutional structures for tech transfer, tax and regulatory reform, and improved access to capital. One of Hungary’s flagship initiatives is the Hungarian Startup University Program, which has introduced over 20,000 students to entrepreneurship and innovation in just five years.

Still, capital remains the biggest bottleneck. “Only 5% of global venture capital is raised in the EU, compared to 52% in the U.S. and 40% in China,” Bodis noted. He argued that Europe must reform its regulations to allow institutional investors — such as pension funds — to allocate more to high-risk VC assets.

To help scale-ups expand globally, the Hungarian Innovation Agency is running the XPAND program, supporting entry into markets like the U.S., South Korea, China, and Germany. “Our vision,” Bodis concluded, “is not just to be an innovation hub — but a regional innovation powerhouse.”

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