Could Brand New Project Encourage Croatian Entrepreneurship?
Croatian entrepreneurship is something that is incredibly difficult for many to wrap their heads around, despite the fact that the country continually produces some incredible minds across all fields. While Croatia does boast some wildly successful ''home grown'' entrepreneurs such as the one and only Mate Rimac, the state and its draconian laws, as well as tiresome procedures and shabby administrative bodies put many a would-be entrepreneur off.
As Novac writes on the 26th of June, 2020, in order to encourage residents of Croatia to enter entrepreneurial waters, encourage Croatian entrepreneurship in general and also give existing entrepreneurs the proper tools to further develop their respective businesses, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) has become a partner in a praiseworthy project called Entrepreneurship Promotion, which launched an initiative entitled ''Inoviraj-Profitiraj/Innovate-Make a Profit'' which is held through free online Info days and brings together entrepreneurs and innovators from across five Croatian regions.
The last Info Day is scheduled for Thursday, July the 2nd, starting at 11:00.
Mislav Malenica, a successful innovator and president of the Croatian Association for Artificial Intelligence (CroAI), who developed the popular virtual assistant Andrija with his team, will tell his inspiring story. Through the WhatsApp platform, this chatbot helps citizens, healthcare professionals, doctors and epidemiologists control the development of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in Croatia. Everyone who applies for the workshop will be able to ask Malenica questions not only about Andrija but also how he managed to realise his ideas and develop his business here in Croatia.
Emir Dzanic, one of the most well respected Croatian experts in the field of innovation, will also take part in the fifth Info Day, giving the attendees some effective tools for the easier realisation of their ideas, and as such encourage Croatian entrepreneurship.
His aim is to show people that as they work out their idea, they need to think about its commercialisation because the best recipe for failure is to make an innovative product, and only then think about how to actually sell it. Only when an idea comes to life in material form, either as a product or a service, and reaches customers, can anyone say that they have created some new value or innovation.
The info day will be concluded by consultants from the project Jednako Razvoj/Equal Development, one of the leading consulting companies for EU funds, who will talk about the latest sources of financing for business ideas.
Participation in these online workshops is free of charge, and you can register via the official website, so you can get a link to the workshop. The project is co-financed by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund.
For more on Croatian entrepreneurship, follow our business page.
Bridge Calls On Gov't To Explain How Election Will Be Held
ZAGREB, June 27, 2020 - The Bridge party said on Saturday the government, having organised an early parliamentary election, should instruct citizens on how it would be held and under which coronavirus protection measures.
Marija Selak Raspudic told reporters the election was seven days away and that citizens still did not know how to vote safely given "the epidemiological situation and the fact that Croatia, primarily because of the prime minister, has become anything but a safe country."
She said it was necessary to make sure that polling committee members and observers would come to the polling stations, otherwise, the election risked being "illegal." She also wondered how many diaspora voters would be prevented from voting and if, because of that, the election might be declared unconstitutional.
Asked if Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic should be self-isolating after a recent tennis tournament in Zadar, where an outbreak of coronavirus occurred, Nino Raspudic said it was very clear that one set of rules applied to the prime minister and another to the rest of the population.
He said the decision to hold the election early had been rushed to use the then popularity of the coronavirus crisis management team for political gain. "Now we see how many of the team's members are on HDZ slates. It's difficult to distinguish between the HDZ's election campaign and the team's press releases."
SDP Tells Capak Not To Engage In Politics
ZAGREB, June 27, 2020 - Social Democratic Party (SDP) secretary-general Niksa Vukas said on Saturday that Public Health Institute director Krunoslav Capak (HDZ), a member of the national COVID-19 crisis management team, should deal with his profession, not politics.
Vukas was responding to Capak's statement earlier today that by deciding to self-isolate, the SDP's Rajko Ostojic was insulting epidemiologists.
He told reporters the crisis management team was not doing its job but campaigning for the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union). "Three months ago, every contact went into self-isolation, now a person who has been in contact with an infected person and self-isolates of their own accord is an enemy."
The president of the SDP's health council, Danko Vrdoljak, said the current spike in infections was the result of the crisis management team's incomprehensible recommendations because people did not know how to behave.
The SDP's public health coordinator, Sasa Srica, again called on Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic to self-isolate because he was in close contact with an infected person.
He said the crisis management team should realise that the HDZ's election rallies were pandemic hotspots as they drew many people who did not keep a distance.
Walk For Life Distances Itself From Statement About Raped Women Who Abort
ZAGREB, June 27, 2020 - The Walk for Life citizens' initiative on Saturday distanced itself from the statement by the president of the Malaika association, which organised a march in Rijeka today, that raped women who want to abort are murderers.
The views of Barbara Brezac Benigar can in no way be associated with those of the peaceful Walk for Life, which supports the unborn child, their mother, and father, and every human being, the initiative said in a press release.
Neither Malaika nor its president is part of the national initiative Walk for Life, Family, and Croatia which this year is taking place under the motto "For the protection of every human life - without discrimination," the initiative said.
It asked Brezac Benigar to stop the unauthorised use of Walk for Life's protected logo and visual identity so that her association's activities and her statements are not associated with the Walk for Life.
The initiative also expressed its support for rape victims.
During today's march, Brezac Benigar told N1 television, "Raped women who want to abort, in my opinion, are murderers. A rapist is a person who committed a crime, a mother who aborts is a person who put herself in the position of a murderer because she ended a human life. I'm not sure that one crime should end with another crime."
Asked by the reporter if she was aware of what she was saying, Brezac Benigar said she was "very much aware" of it.
Peovic Says Walk For Life Against Reproductive Rights, Equality And Solidarity
ZAGREB, June 27, 2020 - Katarina Peovic, who heads the slate of the political platform We Can! in Constituency No. 8, said in Rijeka on Saturday that the Walk for Life held in that city today was a walk against reproductive rights, women's equality and against solidarity and social justice.
Peovic made the statement at a news conference held before the start of the Walk for Life in Rijeka.
"All walks in Croatia have been cancelled due to the epidemiological situation, yet the Walk for Life is being held in Rijeka. It seems they want to infect Rijeka, but they won't succeed. The red Rijeka has always been a city of solidarity, equality, equity. It has always supported women's rights, accessible and free abortion, equal pay for women and men, higher wages, and policies advocating workers' and women's rights," Peovic said, among other things.
PM Says Citizens Should Listen To Experts, Not Politicians Pretending To Be Doctors
ZAGREB, June 27, 2020 - Prime Minister and HDZ party leader Andrej Plenkovic said in Otocac on Saturday that there had not been any big rallies during the current campaign for the July 5 parliamentary election and that citizens should listen to experts rather than politicians pretending to be doctors.
Plenkovic visited the central town of Otocac as part of his party's election campaign.
Asked whether he believed that Croatia was still safe considering the latest increase in the number of new coronavirus cases, Plenkovic said that it was normal that citizens had relaxed and that one should work to find a balance.
"It's only human that citizens have relaxed, we will have to find a balance. Yesterday's meeting of the Scientific Council was excellent, most of the new patients have mild symptoms, and we have to be responsible," he said.
New Shipment With Protective Equipment Arrives From China
ZAGREB, June 27, 2020 - A new shipment with around 194 tonnes of protective medical equipment has arrived in the port of Rijeka from China aboard the Maersk Huacho vessel, the government has said.
The equipment includes goggles, uniforms, and gloves which the government has bought from the MEHECO company.
The value of the shipment is around $10.2 million. The latest purchase, too, was fully financed from the European Regional Development Fund which has so far granted Croatia around €50 million for the procurement of protective equipment to fight the novel coronavirus.
Capak Says Ostojic Belittling Epidemiologists By Self-Isolating On His Own
ZAGREB, June 27, 2020 - Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) head Krunoslav Capak has said that people infected with coronavirus are now observed to have milder symptoms, which is still not proof that the virus has grown weaker, and that by self-isolating SDP official Rajko Ostojic has shown disrespect for epidemiologists.
"We have been observing somewhat milder clinical presentations," Capak told the N1 broadcaster on Saturday, adding that he had heard from epidemiologists in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovenia that people infected with the virus in those countries now had mild symptoms and that many did not have any.
He noted, however, that it was still too early to say that the virus had grown weaker before the research was done on a larger number of people.
The average patient now is on average 20 years younger than the average patient in March, which is mostly due to the fact that younger people have travelled to neighbouring countries and a large number of infections have been contracted in night clubs, he said.
Epidemiologists should decide if someone is at risk of catching the disease
Commenting on Social Democratic Party (SDP) vice-president Rajko Ostojic going into self-isolation on his own following contact with a party colleague who has tested positive for COVID-19, Capak said that with his actions and statements for the media Ostojic was humiliating epidemiologists.
"Ostojic is a gastroenterologist, we do not interfere in his diagnostics and treatment options, so he, too, should stay out of epidemiologists' work," he said.
Capak recalled that epidemiologists had assessed that Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic did not have to self-isolate after a brief encounter of fewer than three minutes and without close contact with Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, who has been diagnosed with COVID-19, at a tournament in Zadar last weekend.
Capak also said that there was no need for Plenkovic to get tested again as he had not been in close contact with Djokovic.
World Bank Grants Croatia Two Projects Worth $500 Million in Total
ZAGREB, June 27, 2020 - The World Bank Board of Directors on Friday approved two projects totalling $500 million to provide emergency support to the Croatian authorities to cushion the effects of the triple shock that hit the country earlier this year.
The unprecedented crisis was caused by the health impacts of COVID-19; the economic crisis caused by the pandemic lockdowns in Croatia and worldwide; and the extensive damage caused by the strongest earthquake in 140 years that hit the Zagreb area on March, 22, the World Bank Office in Croatia said in a press release.
Maric: World Bank recognises Croatian gov't efforts, supports swift, targeted economic packages
The $300 million Crisis Response and Recovery Development Policy Operation supports the government’s swift and targeted economic packages approved in March and April 2020 to mitigate the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 crisis. It also addresses some of Croatia’s longstanding institutional gaps and builds the foundations of an inclusive and sustainable recovery.
"Economies around the world face a number of very demanding challenges caused by the pandemic. We are aware that the World Bank, as one of the leading international financial institutions, which represent an important source of liquidity, carefully selects the projects and programs it will support. Therefore, we are proud that among numerous requests, the Bank recognised the initiative and efforts of the Government of the Republic of Croatia by approving this important instrument that will contribute to strengthening the implementation of measures to deal with the current crisis," Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said.
The first set of measures supported by this operation will mitigate the impact of the pandemic on workers and companies.
To help Croatia during the relief stage, the World Bank is supporting wage subsidies to reduce job losses and expand free health insurance coverage for the poor. It is also providing additional liquidity to firms so they remain productive through financing programs and tax relief.
The second set of measures supports inclusive and sustainable economic recovery by addressing key institutional bottlenecks.
The program promotes income support policies for elderly people without incomes, especially elderly women, and people in rural areas. The measures also include a policy and accountability framework to promote low carbon development and resilience to climate change in line with EU targets. Administrative improvements to the framework for the absorption of EU funds are also included to enhance the efficient management of EU funds.
Two loans, worth $500 million, for economic recovery, post-quake reconstruction
"The World Bank has replied positively to Croatia’s request for support by preparing two operations that are both urgent and critical, given the magnitude of the economic crisis in Croatia, further exacerbated by the earthquake. Both the Croatia Crisis Response and Recovery Program and Earthquake Recovery and Public Health Preparedness Project - worth together $500mn or 0.9 percent of Croatia’s GDP - will help mitigate the effects of the economic shock, advance recovery, facilitate earthquake reconstruction and strengthen national systems for public health preparedness for future pandemic outbreaks," says Elisabetta Capannelli, the World Bank Country Manager for Croatia.
The $200 million Earthquake Recovery and Public Health Preparedness Emergency Recovery Project is the first big reconstruction loan for Zagreb following the devastating March earthquake.
The project will help with the reconstruction and rehabilitation of critical public services in health and education facilities. It will also help with the design of a financial support program for private housing reconstruction, to be financed through public, private, and other financiers and strengthen the institutional capacity of the national authorities to respond to future disasters and manage future risks.
The project will help the country deal with future public health outbreaks and strengthen disease surveillance systems and develop the epidemiological capacity for early detection and confirmation of diseases. It will also support the repair, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of public health laboratories, finance necessary equipment, including for active contact tracing and reporting of new cases.
Maric: Gov't reacted swiftly, established cooperation with WB
"Faced with an extremely adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Croatian economy and the sustainability of public finances and taking into account the significant damage caused by the earthquake, the Government of the Republic Croatia reacted swiftly and engaged early with the World Bank to provide a fast and targeted response. We appreciate the World Bank's timely reaction and prompt preparation of this operation. The project will help restore critical public services and strengthen the future resilience of the health system. Given that the reconstruction of Zagreb will last for years, this project is a part of the wider Government's strategy and approach towards the reconstruction of our capital", says Maric.
The World Bank has also helped the Government to prepare a Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA), which will be the basis for the Government's reconstruction plan, and catalyse other sources of funds, from the EU, other International Financial Institutions and Donors/Partners, for the city's reconstruction.
"To deal with the consequences of an earthquake in addition to a pandemic is an extraordinary feat that Croatia will have to face and for which financial, technical and advisory support will be needed from all. The Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, that the Bank has helped prepare, will help quantify the financial impact of the earthquake. While the reconstruction will be very costly, we are confident that together with the authorities and Croatia's partners, we can support a fast recovery," says Capannelli.
Skoro Says Plenkovic Impervious to Criticism
ZAGREB, June 27, 2020 - Homeland Movement leader Miroslav Skoro said on Friday that the HDZ had moved away from the right-wing policy pursued by its former leader and Croatian president, the late Franjo Tudjman, and that its current leader Andrej Plenkovic was immune to any criticism.
Addressing a news conference in Dugo Selo outside Zagreb, he said that he did not want to patronise anyone, including the HDZ leader who was refusing to self-isolate following contacts with infected persons at the recent Adria Tour tennis tournament in Zadar, and who called such demands 'political folklore'.
Skoro said that he himself would get tested for the coronavirus as a responsible person even though he had not been in direct contact with Social Democrat Rajko Ostojic, with whom he had a debate recently and who has self-isolated due to contacts with another colleague in the SDP who has tested positive for COVID-19.
Skoro also said that he could not tell, when members of the national COVID-19 response team addressed the public if they were doing so as HDZ members or as health professionals, assessing that the team was not dealing with the latest epidemiological situation in the best possible way.
He criticised the team's head, Minister of the Interior Davor Bozinovic, for calling Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina eastern neighbours and closing the border to them, thus preventing the possibility for one part of Dalmatia to have any kind of tourist season this year.
