Blake Whitson, vice president, payments and global customer support at Brainly, and Andy McHale, senior director, product and market strategy at Spreedly, told PYMNTS that payments orchestration can make all the difference in the world of eCommerce, in pursuit of scale and boosting authorization rates. As platforms and apps look to expand their reach into new markets, they must contend with the demand for local payment methods, and alternative payment methods, too, along with a streamlined checkout experience. They want to see the currencies and digital wallets — even BNPL — that they’re used to using on a daily basis. Multiple Sets of Challenges

With a rising number of startups, robust infrastructure, and substantial funding, Poland is becoming a prominent hub for innovation and entrepreneurship in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region and beyond.  Poland has experienced major growth over the past 25+ years with its economy ranking as the 6th largest in the EU. 10 Southeast European startups and scaleups that have conquered EuropeMapping the Polish Startup Ecosystem. The Polish startup ecosystem is one of the most active in the CEE region, boasting an impressive lineup of 3000+ startups, 300+ co-working spaces, 130+ venture capital (VC) firms, as well as various acceleration programs and tech conferences

In recent years, the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) has emerged as a significant source of venture capital for CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) startups. For instance, back in 2022, the Austrian scale-up investor 3VC launched a €150 million fund to support startups in both the CEE and DACH regions.Similarly, SeedBlink, an equity management platform for European innovation, recently announced its expansion in the DACH region with the intention of partnering up with local VCs and business angels to co-invest more than €1.5M in 2023 in 8 startups and with plans to double these volumes in 2024, further cementing the investment ties between the two regions.The Recursive’s research shows that when it comes to investors in the DACH region Austria, in particular, is playing the biggest role in the growth and development of startups in the CEE region. Austrian-based venture capital firms like Speedinvest, Calm/Storm, UNIQA Ventures, and Elevator Ventures have made multiple investments in CEE startups across various sectors, including fintech, healthtech, deep tech, and SaaS. Speedinvest stands out with the most investments in CEE startups, spanning sectors from fintech to deep tech.It’s also worth noting that a lot of these investments have had substantial success, with several CEE startups achieving significant milestones such as becoming a unicorn or being acquired by larger entities.Here you’ll find the top VCs from the DACH region that are actively investing in CEE startups. We explore their investment focus and the stage of companies they invest in. We also highlight some of the CEE startups they have invested in, providing insights into the types of businesses that are attracting DACH venture capital.SpeedinvestAbout: Speedinvest is one of Europe’s most active early-stage investors in the DACH region with more than €1B assets under management and 40+ investors based in Berlin, London, Munich, Paris, and Vienna.Investment Focus: Deep Tech, Fintech, Health, Industrial Tech, Marketplaces & Consumer, SaaS & InfraCompany Stage: Early-stageCEE Investments: Amodo (Croatia, Fintech, *acquired by Cambridge Mobile Telematics*), Investly (Estonia, Fintech), CodeBerry (Hungary, SaaS & Infra), Packhelp (Poland, Marketplaces & Consumer), Dronamics (Bulgaria, Deep Tech), Avatao (Hungary, SaaS & Infra), Harbor Lab (Greece, SaaS).Calm/StormAbout: An exclusive founder network and boutique venture capital firm based in Austria