Balkan Business Brief

Spectro: The AI Solution for Early Fire Detection and Prevention

Every year, the global community witnesses’ wildfires that destroy forests, natural habitat, homes, puts human lives at risk, but also leaves long-term consequences in terms of carbon dioxide emissions and rehabilitation of destroyed areas. There are numerous factors that influence the occurrence of fires and natural, ecological, material, and social disasters, the problem also lies in late detection and poor remediation.

It was precisely this problem that the young team of Spectro decided to address. Ana A?anin , Polina ?e?ina , Dusan Kovacevic , Stefan Vukovi? and Filip Na? started developing the idea in 2021 as part of the Rise-T Academy organized at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of Montenegro, and a little later started developing the software.

Spectro Solutions represents the optimal, affordable, and intelligent service for fire detection. Considering the set goals to perform early fire detection in an affordable, fast, and efficient way, the solution is based on an artificial intelligence algorithm (in the fields of computer vision and machine learning), hosted on the cloud. Through this approach, the most ordinary cameras are transformed into a smart protection tool. The whole process is very simple and consists of four simultaneous stages: the area of interest is captured by any type of IP camera and the video material is transferred to the cloud; the software processes the recording in real time using the algorithms. In case that fire or smoke is detected in the process of video analytics, the software reports the danger and opens the transmission of the video for the user's confirmation, so the user is the one who ultimately decides whether it is necessary to alarm the fire authorities. This is followed by assistance to the user in reporting the location of the fire outbreak to the nearest fire station to respond as quickly as possible. The smart fire detection solution foresees the possibility of monitoring both forest fires and fires in industrial and commercial areas continuously.

With the support of state institutions, the Spectro team has already started the test phase in Montenegro on the Lu?tica peninsula and the Gorica hill, which will further contribute to the improvement of the algorithm, in terms of speed and greater accuracy in fire detection. With a unique and advanced solution, Spectro gained the attention of not only the domestic startup ecosystem and companies, but also international ones. The successful and enthusiastic team achieved commendable results in numerous domestic competitions with mentoring and financial support.

Spectro is convinced that the solution is significant not only for the local community, but also for the entire planet, it will contribute to the creation of positive change and reduce the enormous potential damage caused by fires. The team said that they will continue to work on continuous improvement of the solution and product validation on the domestic market, which they expect to be achieved by the end of this summer, after which the software will be available on the market and the number of users will increase.

Croatia's insurance industry sees growth despite challenges

The results achieved during the previous year showed that the insurance industry remained a stable and reliable partner for citizens and the economy in uncertain and turbulent times. The calculated gross premium of 15 insurance companies in 2022 amounted to 1.682 billion euros, which is an increase of 8.18% compared to 2021. Non-life insurance had the greatest impact on the growth of gross premiums, which in comparison to 2021 achieved growth of 11.46% and amounted to 1.304 billion. Also, the insurance sector successfully overcame the challenges of implementing the new currency and the new international accounting standard IFRS 17. Despite the growth insurance penetration or insurance density, Croatia lags the average of developed European countries. Also, the insurance premium per inhabitant in Croatia is 435 euros, which is significantly lower than the EU average, which is 2093 euros. To improve this, the program - SIGURNIJE SUTRA was launched in Croatia. The program will contribute to raising the financial literacy of citizens in the field of insurance, to better information about products, but at the same time to strengthen the insurance industry in Croatia.

Will integration of Mercator Montenegro and Franca Markets change the retail landscape in Montenegro?

The company Mercator Montenegro submitted a request to the Agency for the Protection of Competition for approval to buy Franca Markets. Both retail chains own a significant number of retail establishments in Montenegro. Mercator Montenegro is part of the retail network of the Fortenova Group and has over 1,600 employees. Franca is a domestic brand with 69 retail outlets. The company Franca stated that it is not an acquisition but an integration. The Agency for the Protection of Competition, to give a final answer as to whether acquisition or integration is possible, will have to take a detailed look at market positions, economic and financial power, competition, but also consider the interests of consumers.