Just as Split enters its boom as a tourist destination, the IT sector is also about to fully swing into action. What was once a quiet city with very little development, now boasts a growing number of tech startups, events and workshops, as well as groups of digital nomads and freelancers coming all year round.

If we go back three years, to 2015, Split wasn’t quite bubbling. However, there was excitement in the air as locals started to notice a change in their city. More and more people were coming to taste the local food, swim in the immaculate seas and explore hidden coves and crevices. It wasn’t just the Germans and Slovaks either, but Chinese, American and New Zealanders.

At the same time, the tech scene and digital nomad community were pretty existed but on a small scale. There was only one coworking space, three official meetups, but one passionate and hardworking community ready to bring about change.

Fast forward to now and the change has been quite remarkable. 

A new coworking space opened towards the end of 2015, following by three more, and the most recent one just last month. There are plans to open two more by the government, so by next year Split could boast seven coworking spaces.

A further twenty meetups have since been started and trialled, ranging from Tinel, whose main goal is to network and connect people, to ML/AI, for those interested in machine learning and artificial intelligence.

The local tech sector hosts a few household names now, with the arrival of electric supercar company Rimac to the smart benches of Steora, as well as extremely successful companies including Profico, Typeqast and GetByBus. 

So what has been behind this shift?

Split has gotten noticed. With the influx of tourists and people moving here, networking with the locals, combined with Croatia joining the EU, the movement of people has been much greater, which in turn has seen a boom in the number of tech companies here working transnationally. 

The local community is made up of hardworking, opportunity seeking individuals, as they’ve travelled around the globe seeking to bring work back to Croatia. Local companies are now working with firms from all over, such as Canada, the US, Germany, the UK, Israel and Dubai to name but a few.

So why should you think about joining us, and being part of Split Tech City?

Over the next four weeks we’ll be looking at the following groups:

#1 Job seekers

#2 Outsourcers and collaborators

#3 Entrepreneurs and startups

#4 Paradise hunters