Ministerial Visit

European Digital Sovereignty at Infobip

French Minister Benjamin Haddad visits Croatia's leading tech unicorn

January 13, 2026
Zagreb, Croatia
11+ Leaders

On January 13, 2026, French Minister Delegate for Europe Benjamin Haddad, accompanied by Ambassador H.E. Fabien Fieschi, visited Infobip's Alpha Centauri campus in Zagreb for a strategic dialogue on European digital sovereignty. Co-organized by the French Embassy and French Tech Zagreb, the visit brought together Croatia's top tech ecosystem leaders for a round table discussion on how Europe can shape its digital future—stronger together, without isolation.

€10B+
Infobip Valuation
75+
Infobip Offices Worldwide
5
Ecosystem Orgs Present
2.5h
Of Strategic Dialogue

The Morning Unfolds

09:00

Welcome at Alpha Centauri

Minister Haddad welcomed by Infobip leadership

Key Moment
09:15

Campus Tour

Walkthrough of Infobip's Zagreb headquarters

09:45

Infobip Presentation

Overview of the company and IPCEI-CIS partnership

10:15

Round Table Discussion

European digital sovereignty: stronger together

Key Moment
11:15

Closing Remarks

Conclusions and next steps

About Infobip

Croatia's first unicorn and one of Europe's most valuable tech companies. A global cloud communications platform connecting businesses with customers across every channel.

The Numbers

  • •€10B+ valuation (Croatia's most valuable company)
  • •75+ offices across 6 continents
  • •700+ direct operator connections globally
  • •300,000+ businesses served worldwide

IPCEI-CIS Partnership

Infobip is a key partner in the Important Project of Common European Interest for Next-Generation Cloud Infrastructure and Services (IPCEI-CIS)—a strategic EU initiative to build sovereign European cloud capabilities.

This partnership positions Croatia at the heart of Europe's digital infrastructure ambitions.

"Minister Haddad was notably impressed by Infobip's scale and global reach—a €10B+ European unicorn that remains largely unknown outside the tech community. This is exactly why visibility and ecosystem bridges matter."

— French Tech Zagreb observation

The Round Table

"Europe's digital sovereignty: Taking up the challenge of being stronger together without isolation"

A strategic dialogue exploring how Europe can shape its digital future by balancing regulatory clarity, innovation (with a focus on AI), infrastructure investment, and data security.

European Digital Sovereignty

Balancing regulatory clarity, innovation, and data security without isolation

The 28th Regime (EU INC)

A unified European company status to help startups scale across borders

IPCEI-CIS Partnership

Infobip's role in European cloud infrastructure initiatives

Cross-Border Collaboration

How Croatian companies can integrate with French and European ecosystems

The 28th Regime: A Game-Changer for European Startups

During the round table, French Tech Zagreb raised the concept of the "28th Regime" (also known as EU INC)—a proposed unified European company status that would allow startups to incorporate once and operate seamlessly across all 27 member states.

Minister Haddad expressed strong support for this initiative, recognizing that the current fragmented regulatory landscape prevents European startups from scaling as effectively as their American counterparts.

Recent movements in Brussels suggest the EU INC framework may be moving forward—a potential transformation for the European startup ecosystem.

The European Vision: Berlin Digital Sovereignty Summit

The discussion was framed by President Macron's November 2025 speech at the Berlin Digital Sovereignty Summit, which outlined France and Germany's shared vision for European tech:

"Europe doesn't want to be the client of the big entrepreneurs or the big solutions being provided either from the U.S. or from China. We clearly want to design our own solutions."

"We have to innovate before regulating, and we have to protect, not be overwhelmed by the non-European competitors."

The Participants

French Tech Zagreb brought together key representatives from Croatia's tech ecosystem to meet with the French Minister and Infobip leadership.

Benjamin Haddad
French Minister Delegate for Europe
French Government
H.E. Fabien Fieschi
Ambassador of France to Croatia
French Embassy
Izabel Jelenić
CTO & Co-founder
Infobip
Damir Prusac
VP Research Alliances
Infobip
Krešo Žmak
Chief Innovation Officer
Infobip
Quentin Lacointa
Co-founder
French Tech Zagreb
Guillaume Rabhi
Co-founder
French Tech Zagreb
Marijana Šarolić Robić
Vice-President
CroStartup
Stefan Martinić
Board Member
CroAI
Davor Anicic
CEO & Co-founder
Velebit AI
Matija Srbić
Director
Nuqleus

Moderators: Quentin Lacointa (French Tech Zagreb) & Damir Prusac (Infobip)

French Tech Zagreb's Role

French Tech Zagreb co-organized this ministerial visit with the French Embassy in Croatia, demonstrating the growing institutional recognition of FIC's role as a bridge between French and Croatian tech ecosystems.

What We Did

  • • Co-organized the visit with the French Embassy
  • • Helped structure the round table agenda
  • • Invited ecosystem partners (CroStartup, CroAI, Nuqleus, Velebit AI)
  • • Co-moderated the discussion

The Impact

  • • Direct ministerial engagement with Croatian tech
  • • Policy discussions on the 28th Regime
  • • Visibility for Croatian ecosystem organizations
  • • Strengthened Franco-Croatian tech ties

From the Paris State Visit in December to this ministerial visit in January, French Tech Zagreb continues to demonstrate that grassroots ecosystem bridges can create institutional-level impact.

Event Gallery

Key Highlights

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Ministerial Visit

Benjamin Haddad

French Minister Delegate for Europe visits Croatia's leading tech unicorn for strategic dialogue.

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Help spread the word about European digital sovereignty discussions

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European Digital Sovereignty: A morning at Infobip with French Minister @Benjamin Haddad. On January 13th, the French Minister Delegate for Europe visited Infobip's Alpha Centauri campus in Zagreb for a strategic discussion on Europe's digital future. @French Tech Zagreb co-organized this visit with the French Embassy, bringing together Croatia's tech ecosystem leaders for a round table on "Europe's digital sovereignty: Taking up the challenge of being stronger together without isolation." Key topics discussed: - The 28th Regime (EU INC) framework - How Croatian tech companies can integrate with French/EU ecosystems - IPCEI-CIS: Infobip's role in European cloud infrastructure The Minister was notably impressed by Infobip's scale—a €10B+ Croatian unicorn with 75+ offices worldwide, often unknown outside the region. This is what ecosystem bridges look like. #FrenchTechZagreb #EuropeanTech #DigitalSovereignty #Infobip
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The Ministerial Visit
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"Europe doesn't want to be the client of big solutions provided either from the US or from China. We want to design our own solutions." These words from President Macron at the Berlin Digital Sovereignty Summit perfectly framed our discussion yesterday at Infobip Zagreb. Minister @Benjamin Haddad brought France's vision for European tech sovereignty directly to Croatia's leading unicorn. The round table explored: - How Europe can innovate before regulating - The importance of European preference in procurement - Croatia's role as an innovation bridge to Southeast Europe @French Tech Zagreb was proud to co-organize this event and bring together CroStartup, CroAI, Nuqleus, and Velebit AI for the discussion. 68 days after Paris, we're continuing to build bridges. #DigitalSovereignty #FrenchTechZagreb #EuropeanTech
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European Digital Sovereignty
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Yesterday, Croatia's tech ecosystem had a seat at the table. At Infobip's Alpha Centauri campus in Zagreb, French Minister for Europe @Benjamin Haddad and Ambassador @Fabien Fieschi met with: - Izabel Jelenić, CTO & Co-founder of Infobip - Marijana Šarolić Robić, VP of CroStartup - Stefan Martinić, Board member of CroAI - Davor Anicic, CEO of Velebit AI - Matija Srbić, Director of Nuqleus The topic: European digital sovereignty and how Croatia fits into Europe's tech future. @French Tech Zagreb co-organized this gathering, moderating discussions on the 28th Regime, European cloud infrastructure, and cross-border collaboration. Croatia isn't just participating in European tech—it's helping to shape it. #CroatianTech #FrenchTechZagreb #EuropeanInnovation
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Croatia's Tech Ecosystem
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The 28th Regime: Europe's answer to startup scaling barriers? During Minister @Benjamin Haddad's visit to Infobip Zagreb, @French Tech Zagreb raised the 28th Regime framework—a potential unified EU legal structure for startups. Minister Haddad is a strong believer. The idea: create a single European company status that works across all 27 member states, eliminating the friction that prevents European startups from scaling like their US counterparts. When a €10B Croatian unicorn like Infobip still struggles with 27 different regulatory frameworks, you know there's a problem worth solving. This is exactly the kind of policy dialogue that happens when you bring government and tech ecosystems together. #EU28thRegime #EuropeanStartups #FrenchTechZagreb
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The 28th Regime
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French Minister for Europe → Croatian tech unicorn → Discussion on European digital sovereignty. This is what Franco-Croatian tech collaboration looks like in 2026. Thanks @French Tech Zagreb for making it happen. #FrenchTechZagreb #Infobip #EuropeanTech
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