The two Croatian companies among 50 fastest-growing in Europe

Two Croatian companies have made it into the top 50 on this year’s list of the 1000 fastest-growing European companies published by the Financial Times in collaboration with the German research firm Statista.

The two Croatian companies to make the list were Aircash and Devot. 

All companies listed on the ranking had the highest average annual revenue growth rate (CAGR) from 2019 to 2022.

The fastest-growing European company on the list, with an average revenue growth rate of 824.4 percent, is the Czech wholesaler of Chinese solar panels, Raylyst Solar, founded in 2018, which has since become a market leader in Germany.

Aircash’s million users

In 2022, the Prague-based company reported revenues exceeding 111 million euros, riding the wave of European efforts to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. 

The success of the Czech company lies in the fact that the European solar industry faces an “existential threat” if the European Commission does not take urgent measures to protect solar photovoltaic module manufacturers, as emphasised by the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC).

Croatian IT company Devot ranks 32nd with an average revenue growth rate of 224 percent (almost 9 million euros in revenue in 2022), while fintech company Aircash ranks 45th with an average revenue growth rate of 209 percent (over 20 million euros in revenue in 2022).

Aircash, a company that started in 2015, obtained an HNB License for payment institution in the EU between 2016 and 2018. During those years, collaborations were established with major Croatian companies, and the Aircash application was launched on Google Play and the iOS AppStore, offering instant money transfers via mobile phones in Croatia, Poslovni.hr reported.

As early as 2019, they signed a partnership with one of the world’s largest financial institutions for international money transfers, RIA, a part of the multinational company Euronet Worldwide, and that year they also received an IEN license, becoming the first Croatian digital e-wallet.

In the previous year, it ranked 4th as a fast-growing technology company in the Central European region according to Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 program, and last year Aircash expanded its team and now has over 100 employees. The number of Aircash users exceeded one million in 2023, and it became available at over 200,000 sales points.

As for Devot, founded in 2016, it made it to the list of fast-growing technology companies according to Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 program in 2022 when it ranked 19th, and by 2023, it climbed to 4th place. In the same year, it received the Dun & Bradstreet certificate of credit excellence. It boasts more than 100 experts and proudly displays a 97 percent employee retention rate on its official website.

IT industry followed by construction

IT and software companies are best represented on the list, with 189 making it to the ranking (176 last year), followed by construction companies (92). E-commerce companies slipped to 3rd place (75 compared to 95 in 2022).

Among the 50 fastest-growing European companies, most come from Italy (13), Germany (8), and the United Kingdom (8). To qualify for inclusion on this year’s list, companies needed a minimum average growth rate of 36.9 percent.