The important take – CEE and WB6 as part of it is maturing and growing. CEE-based investors have become the largest source of capital in their own market, overtaking foreign LPs for the first time in years – a clear signal that CEE is no longer dependent on outside capital to grow, but is building an investor base of its own.

1. Domestic Capital Takes the Lead €1.87B was raised across 32 funds, with a staggering 56% coming directly from CEE-based investors.

2. Tech Dominance Continues VC investment reached €675M across 200 companies. The driving force? ICT, which attracted 79% of all funding.

3. Appetite for Scale Buyout and growth investments hit €1.90B, with growth capital alone jumping 33% to €619M as investors hunt for scalable winners.

4. Liquidity & Maturity CEE exits reached €1.71B, proving that the ecosystem can not only build and scale, but also successfully return capital.

And yet, CEE still accounts for less than 2% of total European PE investment. With Poland now part of the G20 and countries like Czechia and Slovenia converging rapidly with EU averages, the region’s fundamentals are already ahead of where its capital allocation stands.

So, where does North Macedonia fit in?

We believe the opportunity is clear. While North Macedonia remains a small market within CEE, the key building blocks are already in place – a growing startup ecosystem, strong engineering talent, entrepreneurial ambition, and innovation infrastructure that continues to improve year over year.

CEE is moving forward. Our ambition is to make sure North Macedonia and the Western Balkans move even faster.

Source: Invest Europe / EDC, “Central and Eastern Europe Statistics 2025,” in partnership with Gide Loyrette Nouel