Snogoo: Franck's New Digitalised Cafe Opened on Zagreb's Ilica
October the 30th, 2021 - Something brand new for Zagreb's most famous street (Ilica) is likely to delight all those who pass by. The much loved coffee brand Franck has opened its very first ''digitalised'' cafe, called Snogoo.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Croatia's very first digitalised Franck Snogoo location has now opened its doors on Zagreb's busy Ilica street. It is a modern walk-in-store where Zagreb residents and visitors alike will be able to buy a cup of Franck coffee outside as well as other hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, cakes, freshly squeezed juices and snacks, 24 hours a day.
Franck's newly opened Snogoo location offers more than 36 different coffee drinks from Franck's brands Superiore, Stretto and 125 edition, available from three self-service coffee machines or a self-service machine with a built-in cold unit serving refreshing ice coffee, cappuccino and macchiato.
Snogoo's self-service machines are available at more than 2,000 locations throughout the Republic of Croatia already and support all forms of payment, including contactless card payment and payment via Snogoo's very own mobile application (app).
Franck points out that further expansion of their popular network is planned, and that the Zagreb Snogoo location in the very centre of the city is only the first store of this type that they have in their plans. Franck's fully digitalised capital city location also boasts various novelties, such as Digital Signage, a large central screen with a touch screen and a navigation system and display of content related to the space itself.
The screen will show the user their entire purchase process and introduce customers to the novelties and offers, and also offers quizzes and prize games, while through the free Snogoo application, users can easily collect points and benefits.
The brand new Snogoo location is equipped with both a fragrance and music system, and the company says that they have taken care of it and that it is eco-friendly and in accordance with the highest possible current hygiene standards.
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Croatian TheGepek Company Applying Blockchain Technology
October the 30th, 2021 - The Croatian TheGepek company has decided to apply blockchain technology and with it entered the competitive global market. TheGepek otherwise translates to ''TheBoot/Trunk'' (depending whether you're British or American) and has been around since 2020.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, although courier services that can organise deliveries to people and companies in terms measured in hours or even minutes have been increasing for many years, the coronavirus pandemic raised their development to unprecedented proportions, and last year the Croatian TheGepek company was formed. Over more recent days, the company has been entering the global market through the cryptocurrency application model.
TheGepek is otherwise a web platform that provides package delivery in just a few hours, based on the carpooling model, ie using existing transportation resources.
As Kristijan Skarica, co-owner and development director of the Croatian TheGepek company explained, their wish was to test out the market with a minimal set of functionalities in order to apply their learned experiences in this new version by introducing blockchain technology.
"In just a few months, several thousand users registered for the service with minimal investment in promotion. This is an indication to us that the market recognises us and has a need for our service. We decided to implement the blockchain process because we're talking about the technology of the future that offers new ways to develop innovation, shipment security, customer rewards, package security and ensure the global presence of TheGepek on the market through blockchain,'' pointed out Skarica.
He added that the use of blockchain will be one of the key differences of the Croatian TheGepek company when compared to other delivery services, because in addition to the implementation of blockchain, the platform will become universal in the concept of long-distance and last mile (simultaneous) delivery and thus become an ideal solution for all end users and their needs.
''We're currently in the process of making the so-called POC on the blockchain (Proof of Concept) with our partners and the award-winning digital agency Locastic, and our users will be able to see how the use of blockchain technology on the TheGepek platform works. I'd also like to mention Edi Sinovcic from the ShardLabs blockchain development agency with which we're successfully building this project. There will be more significant news in this segment by the end of the year,'' announced Skarica. The blockchain usage model in TheGepek should also be fairly easy to use.
Every driver who delivers a package, in addition to being paid in Croatian kuna, will receive a GPP token as an additional reward for each confirmed delivery on their account. The GPP token will have its equivalent in fiat currency, the user will be able to exchange it for money directly on the platform, withdraw to one of the partner exchange offices or to their own private wallet.
This GPP token will then be used to confirm a delivery in the form of a blockchain transaction, which further adds to the security and transparency of TheGepek's business, given that all blockchain transactions are publicly available and immutable. All users who own a GPP token, which aims to be the backbone of the entire TheGepek ecosystem, will be able to invest the token directly on the company's platform in several different investment pools, which will range from secure to risky.
From this micrologistics company, they estimate that the yield of the pool will vary by 10-50 percent per year, depending on the degree of risk, so users will be able to provide package insurance to other users who send packages and drivers who deliver packages.
The Croatian TheGepek company's project was launched last spring by two young entrepreneurs, brother and sister Dario and Carla Ferreri, based on their personal bad experience with existing courier services. Although over recent years various larger and smaller courier services have flooded the market here in Croatia, their main drawback is that they're mainly related to large cities, primarily Zagreb and several others, and the rest of Croatia, especially smaller settlements and villages, are left to the whims of Croatian Post and large delivery companies whose delivery deadlines are often measured in days. Some items simply never arrive.
This was exactly the reason as to why Dario and Carla started a business that has some great prospects. Namely, as Carla explained, she herself, as well as her brother, have many years of experience in logistics and business development.
"We came up with the idea one Friday afternoon, when it was necessary to deliver a package from Zagreb to the vicinity of Zadar quite urgently. More specifically, this package contained medicine, and the delivery deadline option we got that afternoon at several locations, from the post office to the distribution houses, was on average four days because there was a weekend ahead of us. We solved our problem that afternoon on the ''call a friend'' principle, and the very next day the idea of developing TheGepek was born,'' pointed out Carla Ferreri.
Cost-sharing economics
For package senders, the Croatian TheGepek company has developed a “cashback” system in which all senders can send up to a certain percentage of money in the form of GPP tokens on their account, which they can then use for the next shipment or invest in one of the available ways on the platform. Depending on the level of use of TheGepek platform, each user will have the opportunity to realise additional benefits.
''We currently have very large growth on the platform which now has close to 4000 users and this growth is partly driven by putting the focus on farmers and the transition of their goods and services. I mention this group of users because they showed us how crucial it is to have a platform like TheGepek available that ensures fast and efficient sending of our own products, reduces delivery costs and even provides a source of additional income,'' stated Kristijan Skarica, adding that through such an approach and thanks to market testing, they have gained a clear example of a circular economy and he has no doubt that the use of blockchain technology will position them as a new technological solution.
The platform is currently available in Croatian and English, but the maps are global and TheGepek can be used anywhere in the world. This year, TheGepek has become part of the Infobip Startup Tribe programme, which, in addition to mentoring, provides them with Infobip's technology that will provide them with some completely new functionalities and benefits.
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Petrova Gora Stars Trail: Race of Humanitarian Character
October 29, 2021 - Karlovac Tourist Board organizes the Petrova Gora Stars Trail, which will bring together nature lovers and recreationists, and the organizers expect more than 150 competitors, aiming to promote the beauties of the county and to raise funds for a humanitarian cause.
The Regional Tourist Board of Karlovac County invites to the premiere edition of the trail race on Petrova gora. The Petrova Gora Stars Trail will bring together nature lovers and recreationists, and the organizers expect over 150 competitors and certainly as many people in the entourage who will come to support their friends, family members, and acquaintances.
You can find more information at https://www.utrka.com/utrke/petrovagoratrail/2021/info/
As HrTurizam.hr reports, the Regional Tourist Board of Karlovac County expects a beautiful day filled with numerous activities for runners and other participants who may not actively participate this time.
Lunch and drinks after the race, a dry-fit long-sleeved sports shirt, protein bars, and rich refreshments during the race, which includes healthy products from local family farms, are provided for all participants with a starter pack. Before and after the race, all those present will be entertained by a musical duo who will take care of the good atmosphere, while for all those who will not run this time, a guided tour of the sights on Petrova Gora is provided.
Free transport will take all those interested to the memorial to the last Croatian king Petar Svačić, as well as to the place where the Central Partisan Hospital was located and to the monument on Petrova gora, where the participants of the race will run.
09:00 - 11:30 download of start packages, 12:00 start of the long race, 13:00 start of the short race.
In addition to the rich sports and entertainment content, the race will raise funds for the girl Klara, who has her roots in the vicinity of Karlovac, and due to a serious illness, she needs generous financial resources for treatment outside the Republic of Croatia.
We invite all lovers of sports and nature to combine the pleasant with the useful and take advantage of the beautiful day that awaits us and come to the first Petrova Gora Stars Trail race which will take place at the hunting lodge Muljava on Saturday, October 30, 2021, from 11 am.
The organizer of this event is the sports association Footloose with the support of destination partners of the Regional Tourist Board of Karlovac County and the Tourist Board of Vojnić and Hrvatske šume doo.
For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.
Minimum Wage to Be Contracted in Gross Amount as of Next Year
ZAGREB, 29 Oct 2021 - Parliament amended the Minimum Wage Act by majority vote on Friday and as of next year employers will have to contract the minimum wage with employees in the gross amount, or face a fine between HRK 60,000 and 100,000.
As of next year, the gross minimum wage will be HRK 4,687. Now it amounts to HRK 4,250.
The government decided yesterday that as of next year the net minimum wage will amount to HRK 3,750, an increase of 10.3%. For the first time, the minimum wage will exceed 50% of the average net wage.
Employers who pay below the minimum wage will also be fined, as will those who sign a contract with an employee in which they renounce the payment of the minimum wage.
Parliament rejected a conclusion by Katarina Peović of the opposition Workers Front under which the government should make sure that the minimum wage was a dignified wage. Anything else , she said, is contrary to the constitution.
Parliament also amended the Voluntary Health Insurance Act and now 120,000 insurees, mainly pensioners, will get free supplementary health insurance.
The amended law raises the income threshold from HRK 1,600 to 2,000 a month and for a single insuree from HRK 2,047 to 2,500. For that purpose HRK 16.8 million has been set aside in this year's budget and HRK 101 million for 2022 and 2023.
MPs also endorsed a corruption prevention strategy for the 2021-30 period.
Amendments to the farmland law was sent into a second reading.
A bill by Anka Mrak Tritaš of the opposition GLAS to cut the tax on feminine hygiene products did not receive majority support. However, MPs endorsed a conclusion by the ruling HDZ group tasking the government with analysing period poverty within six months and taking action to eliminate it.
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Over 10,000 Receive First COVID Shot in Two Days, Gov't Tweets
ZAGREB, 29 Oct 2021 - The rising interest in vaccination is encouraging as over 10,000 citizens have received the first shot in two days, the government said on Friday, adding that the number of those who have received a booster shot it also rising.
The booster shoot is recommended for everyone who was vaccinated six months ago or more as well as for senior citizens and immunocompromised persons, government spokesman Marko Milić tweeted.
Yesterday 13,292 COVID-19 shots were administered.
To date 56.92% of the entire population, including 56.21% of adults, has received the first shot.
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Parliament Amends Post-Earthquake Reconstruction Law
ZAGREB, 29 Oct 2021 - The Croatian parliament amended the Reconstruction Act on Friday, paving the way for simplifying and speeding up the post-earthquake reconstruction of Zagreb and surrounding counties and removing the bottlenecks that have emerged in the reconstruction process.
The amendments were passed by 76 votes in favour, 7 against and 35 abstentions.
As a result, citizens will no longer be required to cover 20% of the cost of structural reconstruction. In Zagreb, the government will cover 80% of the cost and the City 20%, while in the Banovina region, the cost will be fully covered by the government.
It will no longer be necessary to establish property rights which have until now hampered the reconstruction process, and the ban on disposal of rebuilt property and the obligation to register a lien on the property were revoked.
Public procurement procedures will be accelerated and rules will be adopted on the procurement of goods, services and works whose estimated value is lower than EU limits.
It will be easier to demolish buildings and build new apartment buildings.
Owners of damaged blocks of flats, commercial buildings and family homes will be allowed to perform structural reconstruction work on their own while adhering to the law regulating physical planning and construction. They will then be compensated for the eligible costs of the reconstruction.
Owners will also be able to conduct retrofitting above the level of technical regulations as well as integral reconstruction and then claim financial compensation for eligible costs.
All land title applications for properties damaged in the earthquakes will be processed on fast track.
Opposition: Some solutions are good, some problems remain
The opposition said that some improvements have been made, that some problems remain.
The dispute between the Construction Ministry and the Reconstruction Fund, namely between Minister Darko Horvat and Damir Vanđelić, is continuing and it is directly delaying reconstruction, said Peđa Grbin (SDP).
The limits for public procurement have been raised while finance for public buildings has been abolished, which is alarming, added Grbin.
MP Sandra Benčić (Green-Left Bloc) admitted that the amendments added some improvements, but questioned the fact that local government was not allowed to finance reconstruction by taking loans and there were no incentives for self-reconstruction. The greatest risk remains in the area of public procurement, she said.
MP Marija Selak Raspudić (Bridge), said that earthquake damage is estimated at HRK 128 billion, yet only three percent of applications have been resolved.
The Sabor did not uphold a conclusion by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) group which would oblige the government to report to the Sabor every six months on the effects of the post-earthquake reconstruction law.
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PM Tells Young People Tourism Needs Them
ZAGREB, 29 Oct 2021- Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Friday opened a conference on the future of Europe and young people in tourism as part of Croatian Tourism Days, telling young people the sector needed them.
Despite the demanding circumstances due to the pandemic, tourism has recorded good physical results this year to date and the value of fiscalised receipts is at 89% of the value in 2019, he said in Župa Dubrovačka.
Plenković voiced confidence that this year's tourism revenue will be close to the revenue generated in 2019. He said the government would continue to support tourism and that during the pandemic it had paid HRK 4.8 billion in aid to 36,000 employers for 190,000 employees in tourism.
As a result of that, Croatia is among the countries with the best tourism results in the Mediterranean this year, Plenković said, adding that the key part in that was played by the people working in the sector.
We need sustainable, innovative and resilient tourism, for which we have ensured HRK 2.2 billion in the National Resilience and Recovery Plan, as well as a sustainable tourism strategy. That will be part of the activities whereby we wish to stabilise the economy in the next decade, Plenković said.
Sustainable tourism development requires qualified personnel and to that end the government has invested HRK 388 million in competency centres across Croatia, he said, adding that the government will continue to increase funds for tourism scholarships.
The prime minister said the latest projections put this year's GDP growth at 9%. "We rebounded quickly," he said, "and tourism played a brilliant part in that."
Scholarships to be increased to HRK 2,000
Tourism Minister Nikolina Brnjac said scholarships for tourism and hospitality secondary school students would be raised from HRK 1,200 to 2,000, adding that 2,000 scholarship contracts have been signed so far.
She said the promotion of jobs in tourism and hospitality would be intensified, adding that a survey of 300 persons aged 16-29 shows that 9% work in tourism or attend tourism school, and that one in 10 of those working in tourism do not plan to make a career out of it.
One-third are neutral about a career in tourism, and 60% seek additional training, Brnjac said, adding that the main incentive to work in tourism would be higher salaries, which are now below the average Croatian wage.
We want young people to stay in Croatia, and encouraging them work in tourism is a challenge in many countries because there is a labour shortage everywhere, Brnjac said.
Šuica: Young people important for EU
The European Commission vice president for demography and democracy, Dubravka Šuica, said the Conference on the Future of Europe she initiated included measures and policies for young people.
She called on young people to propose, as part of the Conference, what kind of future they want.
It would be pointless to think about and plan for the future without them, including in tourism, and it's necessary to invest in them, Šuica said, adding that this year's tourism results were better than last year's and that revenue per hotel room increased by 68%.
She said the Commission would soon propose a European pact for skills, including digital ones, for high quality service in tourism.
Fuchs: 9% of secondary school students in tourism schools
Education Minister Radovan Fuchs said only 9% of secondary school students enrolled in tourism schools this year. He added that only 30% of secondary school students enrolled in vocational schools in Croatia, as against 45% in the EU.
"That's why we are reforming the education system. Something needs to be done because hospitality and its workers are key to our economy," he said.
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Family Doctors Will Contact Persons over 65 about Getting Vaccinated
ZAGREB, 29 Oct 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beroš said on Friday a decision was made under which family doctors would contact their patients over 65 in the next fortnight about getting vaccinated because 31.3% of people in that age group have not been vaccinated against COVID.
The most vulnerable persons, those over 65, are the priority in protection from COVID, he said at a press conference of the national COVID-19 crisis management team, adding that 40% of those over 80 have not been vaccinated either.
If doctors fail to contact their patients over 65 in the next fortnight, they should visit them at home, or have a district nurse do so, in the next 30 days, and then report to the ministry about what they have achieved. Those infirm should be vaccinated at home.
Beroš appealed to the elderly to get vaccinated. "Vaccination saves lives and it is our obligation to enable it."
He said 97 of the 177 persons over 65 who died of COVID this past week had not been vaccinated.
However, he said, interest in vaccination is growing and almost 6,000 of the 13,292 vaccinated yesterday received their first shot, the highest number since late July. Week on week it was an increase of 34.5%, and of 51.8% when compared with two weeks ago.
Croatian Institute of Public Health director Krunoslav Capak said there were 48.8% more new cases today than a week ago.
In the past 24 hours, 26 of the 32 COVID patients who ended up on ventilators and 20 of the 26 who died were not vaccinated.
The head of Zagreb's infectious diseases hospital, Alemka Markotić, told women who planned to get pregnant to get vaccinated or to do so after giving birth.
COVID certificates can't replace vaccination
Asked why COVID certificates were not required more widely, the head of the crisis management team, Interior Minister Davor Božinović, said the certificates offered a certain security but could not be a replacement for vaccination, adding that only vaccination could result in the pandemic abating.
"We are trying to do our best to have people vaccinated. We are thinking more and more about not limiting COVID certificates only to those vaccinated. We will also look at when they were vaccinated."
No one is considering another lockdown, but citizens must understand that this is a situation we will not get rid off anytime soon, Božinović said.
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Opposition Amendments to Minimum Wage Bill Rejected
ZAGREB, 29 Oct 2021 - A government representative on Friday rejected all opposition amendments to the Minimum Wage Bill, of which most were put forward by MP Katarina Peović of the Workers' Front, and accepted only an amendment by Croatian Pensioners' Party MP Silvano Hrelja, who is part of the parliamentary majority.
The bill makes it possible for employers to cheat workers, enabling them to sign employment contracts setting the wage below the minimum wage yet pay the worker the minimum wage but make them work additionally for it, said Peović.
It is therefore important that overtime work, work on holidays, work in shifts and work in difficult conditions be paid for separately, she said.
The minimum pay must be defined as a decent pay, she said, noting that this was a constitutional category.
MP Sandra Benčić of the We Can! party said that the bill included "catches" that would enable employers to pay lower wages than the minimum wage of HRK 3,750 (€500), defined by the government.
MP Hrelja, whose amendment was the only one accepted by the government, had proposed erasing an article from the Minimum Wage Bill so that the minimum wage is not lower than the one determined by the bill and the planned working hours do not affect the amount of the minimum wage the worker should receive.
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Sabor Adopts Prime Minister's Annual Report
ZAGREB, 29 Oct 2021 - The Sabor on Friday adopted Prime Minister Andrej Plenković's annual report on the government's work with 76 votes in favour, 41 against and two abstentions, after he submitted the report on Wednesday, announcing an increase in the minimum wage and parental allowance.
As of 1 January the minimum wage will increase by a net amount of HRK 350 from HRK 3,400 to HRK 3,750 or a net amount of €500, Plenković said on Wednesday.
This is an increase of 10.3% for 51,000 workers.
Presenting the report, Plenković reiterated the importance of demography and announced that next year the government would increase parental allowance to HRK 7,500 for employed and self-employed parents as well as introducing a 10-day paternal leave for employed and self-employed fathers.
Plenković also presented optimistic economic indicators.
"Although we expected a growth of 5.2 percent, the successful tourist season and the 16.1% growth in the second quarter give us reason to believe that we could reach annual GDP growth of over eight percent," the PM said on Wednesday.
He said that despite the numerous problems and challenges his government was faced with and possible mistakes made, it was trying to steer the country in the direction of economic recovery and development and a better life for all citizens.
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