BAIF Project Allows Croatian Teams Ability to Present Projects to Investors
April the 3rd, 2022 - A total of 102 teams from all parts of Croatia (Zagreb, Krapina, Rijeka, Osijek, and Split) went through the BAIF project's investment readiness programme.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, these Croatian teams have as such completed the very first phase of the BAIF project with the ultimate goal of developing an alternative capital market aimed at investing in entrepreneurs and enterprises which are just getting off the ground and which carry with them the possibility of generating social impact.
The ambassadors of investments in projects with a positive social impact
These are all entrepreneurial ideas that create a positive social impact for the economy and society as a whole, contribute to solving some of the key social challenges we face today, promote sustainable development and innovative ways of doing business, all while creating new jobs.
Here in Croatia, unfortunately, we have a relatively low number of socially impactful enterprises, and we also have a dire lack of private investment and appropriate financial conditions. On top of that, there is a general lack of understanding on the part of potential investors for the concept of investing in social entrepreneurs and their companies.
The BAIF project aims to positively influence the current investment climate through a constructive dialogue between the public and private sectors that supports a positive entrepreneurial ecosystem in order to establish a new sustainable investment mechanism that further values social performance.
Over the past year, partners within the BIAF project (the project holder is Krapina-Zagorje County, and the partners are the Zagorje Development Agency, the Krapina-Zagorje County Entrepreneurship Centre, Feelsgood Capital Partners and the Croatian Employers' Association/HUP) have continuously researched and considered some of the best practices in Croatia's immediate region. They place an emphasis on a stimulating environment for the growth of companies with social impact and the possibilities of new financial mechanisms, alternative sources of capital are also significant.
The general level of overall awareness of entrepreneurs and the investment community about companies that generate a positive social impact is still relatively underdeveloped, but successful entrepreneurs are an indication that this way of thinking about does generate benefits for society as a whole and is more interesting to investors on the whole. Entrepreneurs can readily show that generating positive performance and generating profit which guarantees a return on investment becomes a necessity and is the foundation of engaging in sustainable business.
Why is the BAIF project different from similar programmes?
As part of the BAIF project, all of the participants in investment readiness workshops underwent an online training session lasting three to four weeks, where with the help of thirteen renowned mentors of various fields of expertise, they learned first hand how to develop their idea into a real small business ready for investment, growth and success.
The educational programme was conducted electronically using the BAIF LMS platform and the lessons were pre-recorded and could be taken at any time, which greatly facilitated the participation of the entrepreneurs. In addition to video lessons, the participants of the programme received all of the necessary accompanying materials as additional value - such as useful templates for the application of various methodologies and a tool in MS Excel for business planning.
Through the BAIF project, entrepreneurs worked hard on identifying opportunities in the environment, setting up a business model and making financial projections, and in the finals of each bootcamp, they were given the opportunity to present their project to potential investors.
Martina Mrsic, an entrepreneur and the owner and director of Imam Rijec, a participant in the fifth round in Zagreb, characterised the programme as providing an extremely valuable set of tools that have long-term value.
“A total of 102 startups in 365 days devised their business models, networked with fellow entrepreneurs and opened the doors of the investment world - with a clear commitment to generating social impact. Their success is the success of this project. The BAIF project continues to form a new financial mechanism with which we'll work to offer the funding that every startup needs at the very beginning, which is lacking in the Croatian ecosystem,'' explained Helena Matusa, the director of the Krapina-Zagorje County Entrepreneurship Centre and the BAIF project manager.
For more, check out our business section.
Two Retired Ukrainian Artists Choose Croatia Over UK, Make Vir Home
April the 3rd, 2022 - Two retired Ukrainian artists were living their normal lives in the Lviv region of their homeland until the Russian invasion, and in that short period everything changed from them, seeing them relocate from the climes of a grey Ukrainian winter to the mild and sunny Croatian island of Vir.
As Morski/Kazimir Skrbic writes, just several days ago, retired Ukrainian artists Lyudmila and Mikhail Rymik were living their normal lives in the familiar ambience of their home in the immediate vicinity of Stryi, a city of about sixty thousand inhabitants located in western Ukraine in the Lviv region.
It was life as normal until early March when the first smell of gunpowder from eastern Ukraine began to spread further out, reaching more western Ukrainian areas. 68-year-old Mihajlo, a retired builder, gardener and amateur painter, and his wife, Lyudmila, also an artist, made the difficult decision to leave. Mihajlo packed up his van with only some basic hygiene items and his trusty art supplies. They left their two cats and one dog in the care of their diligent neighbours and headed first to Poland, in anticipation of the greatest adventure of their lives.
''When we set off we didn’t really know where we were going. But we wanted to save our pictures and make it to Croatia, where we intended to get in touch with Marica and Mijat Barisic, whom I met in Ukraine three years ago. I only knew that they lived on the island of Vir, but I thought it was good to have someone to go to. Marica's mobile contact from the business card she left me, I called unsuccessfully because I overlooked the fact that you need to put in the area code for Croatia,'' stated Mihajlo. Their long trip through Poland, Slovakia and Hungary took them a full two weeks, and then Mihajlo and Lyudmila, after arriving in the City of Zagreb, managed to establish contact with some friends of Marica and Mijat from Vir.
''Mihajlo's friend asked me if Mihajlo and Lyudmila from Ukraine could come to us. I couldn't immediately remember who they were, because I hadn't actually met Lyudmila, but then I remembered Mihajlo, with whom we hung out when my husband and I were staying in Ukraine. Mihajlo played the guitar in a castle at a gathering organised by our Association of Ukrainian-Croatian Friendship. If you're ever in Croatia, I told him then, stop by Vir,'' said Marica, remembering how one informal invitation had become fateful.
Without thinking, the pair opened their hearts and provided accommodation to the Rymiks, and Mihajlo and Lyudmila have been Vir residents with an address in the Miljkovica settlement for two weeks now. The idyllic landscape of their Ukrainian village has quickly been replaced by being on the deeply desired first row to the sea.
''It's beautiful on the island,'' said Mihajlo, for whom the blue azure of the sea was the current inspiration for the first painting - the Vir motif. The two talented Ukrainian artists arranged the paintings they'd manage to bring with them, as well as their art and painting accessories, all of which can be found on the mezzanine stairs of the family house of their friends.
In addition to the Barisic family, other Vir locals also readily helped out, and their dilapidated and broken-down van, with which they barely reached Vir, was serviced and repaired free of charge by the well-known Vir car mechanic Zivko Vucetic, and now Mihajlo and Lyudmila can drive to Zadar to visit MUP and complete the formalities regarding their current status and stay in Croatia.
In the meantime, the pair of Ukrainian artists have been offering their paintings of larger and smaller dimensions - inspired by Crimea, the Ukrainian countryside, the natural environment, but also the French masters of Impressionism - to Zadar galleries and locals. In order to make some money, Mihajlo is ready, he says, to work doing building again as a master mason, and during the summer season, both of them will try to offer their painting skills to tourists on the beaches.
''I'm willing to do anything to make the situation we're in at least a little bit easier. We're immensely grateful to Marica and Mijat for their hospitality, but we'd like to earn our own money and be independent. I hope we'll be able to make a living from selling our paintings,'' said an optimistic Mihajlo.
Instead of living with family in England, they ended up on Vir
''I suffer with some thyroid problems, so the coastal environment will be pleasant for my slightly impaired health due to the iodine and salt. As we'll definitely stay here on Vir until the end of the summer, we'd like our British family to visit us. We have two daughters who live in England with their families,'' said Lyudmila, explaining why the Ukrainian artists didn't go to England to be with their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren, but instead chose to go on an adventure which saw them end up on a Croatian island.
For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.
Include Company Owner Ivan Mrvos Installs Newest Product in Slavonia
April the 3rd, 2022 - The Solin-based company Include has been making headlines more or less since its very creation, and for all the right reasons. This innovative company, headed by young and ambitious Croatian entrepreneur Ivan Mrvos, has made quite the global name for itself. Mrvos' newest creation has found its home in Slavonia.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, the Croatian company Include has officially installed its very first Aerys G air quality monitoring station, and the first location is the Donji Miholjac industrial zone in Slavonia.
To briefly recall, back in late October last year, Include introduced its brand new Aerys stations, the latest product designed under owner Ivan Mrvos to measure air quality in urban areas. They allow for the easy and affordable installation of a large number of units which then provide the most important information on local air quality at any given time, giving cities a proper insight into the source of pollution and their frequency.
"The air quality index in Donji Miholjac shows that the air is of very decent quality in the last few days since the device was installed," claims Ivan Mrvos.
Include also stated that the Aerys G system is a standalone product, the first ever installed in Donji Miholjac, and also the first Include installed product in the last seven years that is not a Steora smart bench.
Aerys is available in three different types - Model P allows for the measurement of the concentration of suspended particles that typically represent the largest source of pollution. Model G measures the concentrations of NO, NO2 and O3 gases, while Aerys X includes measurements of particulate matter, toxic gases and basic atmospheric conditions.
Last October, they announced during a presentation that the first Aerys systems would be delivered to the Italian capital of Rome, which was completing the construction of a smart market at the time.
A new campaign
Since its founding back in 2015, Ivan Mrvos' remarkable company has been building its visibility on its Steora smart benches. Today, their smart city solutions are used in 59 countries around the world. They also stepped into the smart waste management market by introducing Terra bins that reduce waste collection by 80 percent, thus reducing both carbon dioxide emissions and removal costs.
Back in December last year, they launched their third fundraising campaign on the Funderbeam platform. In the pre-series B round of financing, they reached their desired minimum amount of 400,000 euros, and Ivan Mrvos revealed that there were some very well-known names from the Croatian IT and financial scene among those investors.
“More than a hundred investors recognised the value of our goal of making communities around the world a better place to live. Since 2015, we've expanded to 59 markets, with more than 1,700 products installed in more than 500 cities and municipalities. Thanks to this financing, we'll manage to reach even more markets,'' they announced from Include.
The goal was to raise between 400,000 and 1 million euros, as an overture to the second phase by the end of 2022, in which, as previously stated, the plan is to raise 5.5 million euros. The capital will be used to offer smart products to cities with easy installation, ie to scale production processes.
After becoming the first Croatian company at Funderbeam in 2017, in 2019 they started their second campaign and raised 1.5 million euros in record time.
For more, check out Made in Croatia.
KK Split Fans Witness Battle, Excitement, Frustration in 85:90 ABA League Overtime Loss to FMP Belgrade
April 2, 2022 - This was the third extremely close game within 96 hours for KK Split who was welcomed very warmly by their officially reported 2000 fans at Gripe after the 81:80 victory on Thursday against Mega Belgrade and the 77:78 defeat against Zadar on Tuesday.
Srđan Subotić, coach of Split had again called for help from the bleachers after it had worked well last time: "This rhythm continues every other day. FMP is an athletic team, and extremely energetic. FMP is playing a great season, they come motivated and full of desire to win. We play at home, the audience gives us extra energy. Thank you to the fans who follow us game after game. Gripe is getting fuller, a great atmosphere has been created and we will do our best to use it."
Guest coach Nenad Stefanović knew what awaited him and called his team to stay attentive: "The Split team showed us in the first match in Zeleznik, especially in the first half, how dangerous it can be and how potent it is in the attack. They work very well offensively, with the arrival of Shorter they gained an extra dimension in the attack, and with the return of Jones stability and strength in the racket. They are a team that is very strong and difficult, especially at home. In addition to the victories they achieved, they were close to surprising the big favorites several times. We prepared as seriously as possible."
The Yellows went into the game with a three victory streak in the ABA League and with the aim to secure 13th place which means a shot at relegation against the runner-up of ABA League 2. They possibly could have even reached for the final straw that would give them rank 12 if they won all remaining games and if the other results went their way. FMP on the other side still had the chance to qualify for the playoffs early with a win tonight.
For almost the entire game it wasn't clear which team would come closer to their goal. What neither side seemed to be expecting was how close this game would be and that only extra time would produce a winner.
The first quarter went to Belgrade (18:20) who were usually upfront in the first half but Split was always close to follow. With their last attack of the first half, the Yellows took their first lead of the game at 39:38. FMP Belgrade then closed that gap again in the third quarter which meant 52:52 before the fourth quarter.
The game continued to be extremely close but a block by Perković, followed by points and great efforts by him and Shorter not only lead to a 61:58 with 6:24 to play but also brought the crowd off their seats.
Less than a minute later everybody held their breath when Shannon Shorter had to be taken out of the game as he appeared to be injured. Luckily he was able to return to the game after brief treatment. The home team needed their leader as Belgrade was able to tie the game again.
Kovačević scored a three-point shot with 1 minute 42 seconds left to make it 72:69, but Belgrade answered with a fast break, a good defense, and a three-pointer by Stepanović to turn the game around at 72:74 with 25 seconds to play.
Split's inside man Žganec kept his cool and made both of his free throws to tie the game again at 74:74 and 19 seconds on the clock. Subotić called his team to defend instead of going for a quick foul and the team followed his instructions well. Belgrade's point-guard Bryce Jones missed his layup, which meant overtime.
The guests had a better start into the additional five minutes and quickly established a five-point lead. Forward Tasić even succeeded in increasing the lead to 80:86 with a 3 point shot and only 88 seconds left to play.
Perković's three points to reach 83:86 did not make a difference and the home side was not at the happy end of the week. Belgrade's Bryce Jones scored a total of 23 points to become the top scorer of the night. Shannon Shorter scored one less but also grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double while he carried his team during most of the game.
Referees: Matej Boltauzer, Milan Nedović, Matej Špendl
Box score: https://www.aba-liga.com/match-live/169/21/1/Overview/q1/1/home/split-fmp-meridian/
ABA League Format:
ABA League Format:
The 14 teams play each other twice during the regular season to establish 6 teams that will play for the title, one team that will drop out of the league directly, and the “lucky 13th” having a chance to stay in the league by winning a best of three series against the runner-up of ABA League 2. The six teams that finish at the top of the league at the end of the regular season play each other in a play-off mode. The top two teams receive a wild card and enter the playoffs in the semi-finals, while the other four teams play each other first (3rd against 6th and 4th against 5th). The reigning champion is Red Star Belgrade who defeated Budućnost in a long 3-2 final series.
To read more about sports in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.
Serb Flag Again Removed From Serb Minority Council Building in Varaždin
ZAGREB, 2 April 2022 - The flag of the Serb minority has again been removed from the building housing the Serb Minority Council in the northern city of Varaždin, the local organisation of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) said on Saturday, condemning this incident as an act of hatred.
The Serb minority flag was removed some time between Friday afternoon and 10 am on Saturday, when the police were notified, while all other flags were left in place, Marina Kolarić, spokeswoman for the Varaždin Police Department, confirmed to Hina. She said a criminal investigation was under way.
The incident was sharply condemned by Barbara Antolić Vupora, a member of the national parliament and head of the local branch of the SDP, who said that Varaždin should be a city of tolerance, culture and peaceful coexistence of all its citizens, including ethnic minorities.
Since this was not the first such incident, because the Serb flag had been removed from the same building last November, Antolić Vupora said that "someone is sending a message to some of the citizens of Varaždin that they are not welcome here."
"I am confident such things would not happen if we taught our children tolerance from an early age through civic education in school. This case shows that society has failed in that regard," she said.
For more, check out our politics section.
Tegeltija: Why Would Trebinje Airport Be a Problem to Dubrovnik?
ZAGREB, 2 April 2022 - The Chairman of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Council of Ministers, Zoran Tegeltija, said on Saturday it was not clear to him why anyone in Dubrovnik and Croatia would be against the construction of an airport at Trebinje, noting that everyone would benefit from the project.
Tegeltija confirmed to the local media that he had received a letter from Dubrovnik Mayor Mate Franković requesting that all preparations for the construction of the Trebinje airport be suspended until the possible impact of the project on the environment, including the River Ombla, was assessed.
In his letter, Franković reminded Tegeltija that Bosnia and Herzegovina, just like Croatia and Serbia as a potential investor, was a signatory to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context and that the airport construction should be suspended until it was confirmed that there would be no risk to the source of the River Ombla, which is situated only eight kilometres from the planned construction site.
The airport would be built in highly porous karst terrain.
Tegeltija said he was ready to discuss all unresolved issues with the Croatian government, including its plan to build a nuclear waste facility on Mount Trgovska Gora at Dvor na Uni, near the Bosnian border.
"I do not understand why the mayor of Dubrovnik is not happy about the construction of the airport at Trebinje, given its economic importance not just for Trebinje, but for the whole of Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina," Tegeltija said, avoiding a comment on Dubrovnik's concern about the possible pollution of the Ombla.
Trebinje Mayor Mirko Ćuk said that Franković should not be interfering in this project. "I am in favour of all conditions being met, but without political interference. It is superfluous to comment on the claim that the construction of the Trebinje airport will affect the source of the river."
Earlier this week, the Council of Ministers formulated a proposal to open talks with Serbia on a memorandum of understanding for the construction of an airport at Trebinje. The opening of talks requires the approval of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The idea to build the Trebine airport was first floated two years ago by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who said that the project was important for connecting Eastern Herzegovina to Serbia and the region and that it would be fully financed by Belgrade.
The airport would serve a town of barely 30,000 inhabitants and would be situated in a sparsely populated region. There are already three airports within a 50-km radius of Trebinje -- at Mostar, Dubrovnik and Tivat.
For more, check out our business section.
4 Montenegrins, Charged With Migrant Smuggling Across Croatia, Remanded in Custody
ZAGREB, 2 April 2022 - Four Montenegrins, who were arrested on Thursday while they were trying to smuggle Afghan migrants across Croatia, were on Saturday placed in custody after an investigating judge in Karlovac ordered their detention as they were a flight risk.
The four Montenegrin men, aged between 24 and 32, were charged with the illegal transport of migrants and with forgery of documents.
The suspects were nabbed by the Croatian police in the hamlet of Kukača in the morning of 31 March, while they were transporting irregular Afghan migrants on their way to west Europe.
The migrants were placed in the trunks of the two cars driven by the Montenegrins, and they were being transported in life-threatening conditions, being concealed in a small space without enough air to breathe, according to the report issued by the local prosecutor.
Dubrovnik Mayor Asks Bosnia Government to Halt Construction of Trebinje Airport
ZAGREB, 2 April 2022 - Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Franković has sent a request to Bosnia and Herzegovina's Council of Ministers to halt the construction of the airport in the town of Trebinje, southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, until the impact of the project on the source of the River Ombla is assessed.
The road distance between Dubrovnik and Trebinje is roughly 30 kilometres.
The mayor sent the request to the chairman of the Bosnia and Herzegovina's ministerial council, Zoran Tegeltija, on Friday following the adoption of a memorandum by Bosnia's Council of Ministers and the government of Serbia on the future cooperation with the aim of implementing the project of Trebinje Airport.
Franković recalls that apart from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are also signatories to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (informally called the Espoo Convention).
The document is a United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) convention signed in Espoo, Finland, in 1991 that entered into force in 1997.
The Convention sets out the obligations of Parties—that is States that have agreed to be bound by the Convention—to carry out an environmental impact assessment of certain activities at an early stage of planning. It also lays down the general obligation of States to notify and consult each other on all major projects under consideration that are likely to have a significant adverse environmental impact across boundaries.
Franković says that the construction of airports is covered by the convention whereby the signatories are obliged to apply the principles and provisions of ESPO as well as of the Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA).
"Therefore we express dissatisfaction with the current course of action and with the absence of initiative for dialogue...concerning this environmentally important issue," writes the mayor of the southernmost Croatian city.
Dubrovnik insists on the immediate suspension of the project until all the fulfillment of the requirements under the ESPO convention and SEA protocol.
According to the available information, the future airport should be situated in a Karst area and on soil permeable to water in the Talež settlement in the Serb entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, just eight kilometres of the source of the River Ombla.
For more, check out our business section.
Industrial Workers Statistics in February Shows Rise m-o-m And Fall y-o-y
ZAGREB, 2 April 2022 - The total number of workers in the industrial sector in February 2022 rose 0.3% from the previous month and fell 0.9% compared to February 2021, show data from the national statistical office (DZS).
According to the National Classification of Economic Activities (NKD), month-on-month, the number of employees in mining and quarrying dropped by 0.2%, and it went down 0.3% in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, while it increased 0.3% in manufacturing.
Year-on-year, the number of workers in mining and quarrying fell 0.5%, and by 1.1% in manufacturing, while it rose 1.8% in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply.
According to the DZS data, Croatia's industrial output rose by 4% in February, thus growing for 15 months in a row on the year.
Croatia's Coronavirus Update: 1,303 New Cases, Eight Deaths
ZAGREB, 2 April 2022 - In the last 24 hours, there have been 1,303 new cases of the infection with coronavirus in Croatia, and another eight COVID patients have died, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Saturday.
There are currently 9,703 active cases of the infection, and 623 of them are hospitalised, including 40 patients hooked on ventilators.
Since 25 February 2020, when the first care of the new infectious disease was registered in Croatia, there have been over 1.1 million cases of the disease which has so far taken 15,592 lives in the country.
So far, over 1.07 million recoveries have been registered, including 4,608 recoveries in the last 24 hours.
The healthcare authorities report that 68.59% of adults have fully been vaccinated.
