As Novac writes on the 12th of September, 2020, half a year after the devastating earthquake in which one person lost their life and about 25,000 houses and buildings were damaged, the major Zagreb restoration is ready to begin, which is still associated with many doubts. The only certain thing is that it will be expensive and long-lasting. Scaffolding and cranes will be a common sight on the streets of Zagreb for years to come, especially in the city centre where the damage was the greatest. For many, there will be a lot of work to be done.

"Croatian producers must have priority in the post-earthquake Zagreb restoration", emphasised the Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce for Construction, Transport and Communications, Mirjana Cagalj, presenting a new project of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce under the name - Let's build Croatian. She stated that the damage done to the Croatian capital estimates range up to 86 billion kuna, and it's difficult to say with certainty how much the complete reconstruction will cost.

"It regards a lot of public money that requires transparent spending and support for the Croatian economy. It will take decades, depending on the inflow of funds. Thw Zagreb restoration project is a great opportunity. From this, the city can come out more beautiful and safer than it was before, and our construction industry and economy will become stronger. History teaches us that these unfortunate situations can be an opportunity for the future of Zagreb. After the earthquake which struck back in 1880, Zagreb became a modern Central European city, and until then it was a small town,''  noted Mirjana Cagalj, who believes that the idea that Croatian producers must have priority in the Zagreb restoration process.

"In the case of this project, we can say that there are three lines of action - towards the state, regional and local self-government and towards all professions and actors involved in construction. We have connected professions through the associations of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce with the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Property, the Faculty of Civil Engineering, the Croatian Chamber of Civil Engineers and Architects, HUPFAS and other institutions. The Chamber already had an online database of Croatian companies and products, our Catalog of Croatian Products, and now we've adapted it especially for renovation products in order to make the process of including Croatian products as simple as possible. We'd like to invite our clients to send out a strong and unequivocal message that they want to preserve Croatian manufacturers and jobs in the production of construction materialsm'' pointed out Cagalj, adding that the reconstruction of a city of millions is a complex job in which there is room for people from a wide array of sectors.

The lack of manpower in Croatian construction companies is often mentioned as a major problem, which is why many large construction jobs in Croatia are carried out by foreign companies.

"This problem didn't just pop up yesterday and it has its oscillations. From 2008 to 2015, the construction sector lost almost 40,000 jobs. Although the building sector began to recover in 2015, many workers left Croatia, some retrained for other occupations, and there was no quota at that time. We've been importing workers since back in 2017, but it's difficult for qualified labour from third countries to choose to come to work in Croatia. Although a large number of the largest construction companies were lost in that crisis, and now we've got a situation in which projects are being carried out by foreign companies and the Croatian ones work as subcontractors, this doesn't necessarily mean a slow down for the Zagreb restoration process. We have enough capacities for the work ahead of us. The contractors and manufacturers of materials and equipment are ready,'' claimed Mirjana Cagalj, who also provided an answer to the question of how the state or the Croatian Chamber of Commerce can give preference to Croatian companies during the Zagreb restoration process, especially if foreign companies will offer better and cheaper products and services.

"We're aware of the EU principles of the open market, but it's crucial to make the professional and general public aware that Croatian products have quality. In the law itself, we presented the possibility of implementing provisions that would enable the greater use of Croatian products through the faster implementation of tenders with the proximity and availability of products and services. Thus, the main criterion is the criterion of urgency in supply. In this way, through technical specifications, we'll provide an opportunity for Croatian resources without the need for discriminatory provisions for other EU entities,'' said the Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.

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As Lucija Spiljak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 11th of September, 2020, with the acquisition of its European subsidiary Interxion, the American company Digital Realty took over the Zagreb company Altus IT, the first Croatian data centre independent of a telecom operator. This acquisition will further increase the global user presence with access to the global PlatformDIGITAL, which helps users worldwide to connect their entire digital ecosystem through a single data centre service provider.

''We believe that this is an extremely significant step further that brings our customers a stronger global presence and opens up new opportunities for growth and development. We'll certainly use Interxion's access to a global network of more than 280 facilities at 47 metro locations in 22 countries across six continents and established relationships with 700 telecoms, to further develop the established telecommunications hub,'' said Goran Djoreski, the current director of Altus IT, which connects more than 45 telecoms, including Cogent, CenturyLink, NTT, Cloudflare, DT, A1 and others, making Altus IT the focal point of all communications between the region and Western Europe.

The company has established itself on the Croatian market as the leading independent provider of data centre services and one of the main communication hubs, and last year they earned 18.71 million kuna, with a growth compared to last year of 26.42 percent. They currently have about fifteen employees, and that number will follow future development plans, the company says. Djoreski will take over the position of Interxion's business director in Croatia. The price of the acquisition isn't yet known, and it is too early, they say from the company, to discuss concrete plans and investments on the Croatian market. However, the business model of Altus IT, Djoreski added, is similar to that of Interxion, so they don't expect major changes in the continuation of business and organisational structure, and the company will continue to operate in Croatia as an independent legal entity.

Last year, in an interview with Poslovni Dnevnik, Djoreski revealed that Altus IT concluded its fourth expansion by raising its capacity by an additional 200 square metres to a total of 830 square metres, marking the beginning of a phase of accelerated cloud-based growth and preparation for even greater investment. Since back in 2012, when Altus IT initially entered the cloud business, they have become a key cloud point in Croatia, from which they now generate a quarter of their revenue. Half of their customers are various IT and digital companies, and the other half are telecoms. Four years ago, Telia Carrier placed a direct connection to the Microsoft cloud platforms Azure and Office365 at Altus, which means that in the past three years, large companies and banks haven't needed to use Office365 over the Internet, but can optically connect to Altus IT and as such connect directly to Microsoft services. Thus, users store all their data in Croatia, and if necessary, transfer it to the Microsoft cloud and back. At Altus, both Amazon and Google have direct links to their clouds.

With this acquisition, it seems that it will try to strengthen globally, and the fact that Interxion: A Digital Realty Company, as a European independent provider of cloud data centres and collocation solutions, is a leader in the EMEA region, also supports this. It is a subsidiary of Digital Realty, which operates in 22 countries with 280 day centres on six continents. Last year, with 1,550 employees, they earned 3.2 billion US dollars, while profit was 579 million US dollars.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 11th of September, 2020, last year, there were 63,598 enterprises in the top 10 Croatian cities with the highest average earnings, and they employed 498,387 employees.

Entrepreneurs from Zagreb, Porec and Rijeka made the largest consolidated net profit last year and are leading the list of 10 Croatian cities with the highest earnings, according to an analysis published by the Financial Agency (Fina). Among the top 10 Croatian cities according to the net profit criterion are Sveta Nedelja, Dubrovnik, Velika Gorica, Vukovar, Zadar, Varazdin and Rovinj.

Fina notes that compared to the ranking list from 2018, Split, Karlovac and Nasice dropped off the list, and the new ones on the ranking list are Sveta Nedelja, Zadar and Varazdin.

The consolidated net profit of entrepreneurs in the top 10 Croatian cities last year amounted to 23.5 billion kuna, while the consolidated net profit of all enterprises in Croatia stood at 31.3 billion kuna. Last year, there were 63,598 entrepreneurs in the above listed cities, and they, as stated, employed 498,387 workers.

The analysis of the data from these cities confirms the large concentration of business of enterprises, taxpayers of profit tax, in the 10 aforementioned cities, whose share is 46.7 percent in the number of enterprises 51.4 percent in the number of employees, 62.7 percent in total revenues, 66.7 percent in period profit, 51.9 percent in period loss and 75.1 percent in net profit.

The reason for that, as stated by Fina, is primarily due to the share of enterprises and businesses based/headquartered in the City of Zagreb, which is logical.

Zagreb-based enterprises, all 45,608 of them with their 372,776 employees, unsurprisingly realised the highest net profit, of 18.5 billion kuna, which is 59 percent of the net profit of all enterprises operating in the country.

They are followed by businesses from Istrian city of Porec who achieved a consolidated net profit of 706.1 million kuna back in 2019, and enterprises from Rijeka with a profit of 641.8 million kuna.

Enterprises from Sveta Nedjelja, who realised a net profit of 621.5 million kuna, are in fourth place on the list of the top 10 Croatian cities in terms of net profit, while enterprises down in Dubrovnik are in fifth place with a net profit of 597.6 million kuna.

Businesses from Velika Gorica near Zagreb are in sixth place with a net profit of 558.7 million kuna, enterprises from Vukovar are in seventh place with a net profit of 504.5 million kuna, and Zadar-based companies who realised a net profit of 497.1 million kuna last year are ranked in eighth place.

At the bottom of the list are the enterprises from the continental Croatian town of Varazdin with a net profit of 487.6 million kuna, taking ninth place, while companies from Rovinj, with net profits of 362.4 million kuna are in the tenth place.

According to Fina, HEP, Pliva and Hrvatski Telekom/Croatian Telecom (HT/CT) contributed the most to the good results of companies based in Zagreb, Valamar Riviera did the same in in Porec and Plodine did so in Rijeka.

Maba-Com, in bankruptcy, contributed the most to the results in Sveta Nedjelja, Adriatic luxury hotels did so in Dubrovnik, Lidl Hrvatska did so in Velika Gorica, Prvo plinarsko drustvo did so in Vukovar, Tankerska plovidba did so in Zadar, Gumiimpex-GRP did so in Varazdin and Maistra did the same in Rovinj.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 8th of September, 2020, so far, 534 companies registered in Croatia with a total of 24,192 employees have applied for Croatian Government subsidies to cover their employees as they make the increasingly popular decision to shorten their working week.

Croatian Government subsidies will ensure the payment of all of them up with up to 2,000 kuna per employee, and the measure will be applied by the end of the year. Companies and enterprises from particularly vulnerable industries who have experienced a pandemic-induced drop in their income of more than 60 percent when compared to last year will be able to count on 4,000 kuna in state aid for their employee salaries by the end of this year, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic announced last week.

The move was formally adopted on Monday at a session of the Administrative Council of the Employment Service, according to a report from Vecernji list.

The extension of Croatian Government subsidies in the full amount of 4,000 kuna especially applies to companies operating in the sectors of passenger transport, catering/hospitality, tour operators and enterprises related to recreation, culture, business and sport events, as well as enterprises and activities that won't be able to operate due to possible decisions of the National Civil Protection Headquarters in regard to work bans.

The Croatian Government subsidies also include a write-off of all related contributions. It is estimated that the extension of these state grants will cover approximately 70,000 employees in total, for which the state will additionally provide around 800 million kuna. In total, support for employment could reach ten billion kuna this year, most of it having been financed from the state budget, but the government has made sure to assure that part of the funds will be compensated from various European Union sources.

''I see the extension of these measures as a purchase of time over the next few months, to see what's going to happen and think about where it is wisest to invest. If this situation continues, there will be a greater need to invest in people and new technologies,'' stated Danijel Nestic, an analyst from the Zagreb Institute of Economics.

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As Lucija Spiljak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 3rd of September, 2020, the teas of the Koprivnica-based sole proprietorship Pampa-tea, which has been researching, processing and producing medicinal herbs and teas since 2000, has now started to conquer the "native land" of tea - the Asian market.

Pampa-tea's products first went on sale in Japan and Singapore, and the Croatian company recently signed product distributions in Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Macau and South Korea. Interested customers especially liked the new line of popular teas in pyramid packs, as well as the amusing names in English.

"These are the countries where tea comes from, so they were looking for the best. Their ''tea journey'' brought them to us, which we're proud of because they were convinced of our quality. The feedback has been very positive and we expect a new order soon,'' says the owner of the Pampa-tea, Kresimir Krznaric.

These Croatian teas also go to America and even all the way to Australia

After Asia, they are moving their sights, they say, to Australia and North and South America. The story of the Pampa-tea began way back in 1996 when in Argentina, in the village of Pampa del Infierno, they saw old gauchos preparing tea. Then their idea of ​​producing medicinal herbs and teas such as lemon balm, mint, calendula, St. John's wort in his native Podravina, where it is a centuries-old tradition, was born.

"In the beginning, we relied on the development and cultivation of raw materials, ie medicinal plants. We had our own plots where we learned how to grow medicinal herbs profitably. Due to the increase in sales and demand, we turned to the sale and distribution of teas. We've transferred technologies and knowledge to subcontractors who now grow certain types of plants for our needs, while they sell surplus plants to other companies,'' explained Krznaric, who is otherwise a very learned agricultural engineer by profession.

All members of the immediate family are involved in the work of the family business; Kresimir's brother Domagoj is a graphic technology engineer by profession, his father is a graduate economist, and his mother is a food technologist, so together they cover all areas.

They offer 18 types of blends of homemade teas in bulk packaging, five types of blends of homemade teas in modern pyramidal packaging, and chamomile tea (100 g) and nettle tea (60 g) in bulk. They process 4-5 tonnes of medicinal herbs a year to make their popular teas.

"Every year we increase out production by about 20 percent,'' revealed Krznaric. They are characterised by a rich, fine taste and aroma so that almost all ages can enjoy them. The advantage is that the teas are not ground, but chopped to keep the plant, leaf and flower as natural as possible.

Chopped dried plant, leaf, flower or dried fruit contains much more essential oils and medicinal components than tea in filter bags does.

Here in Croatia, their products with memorable names - Mrsavko, Bronhitko, Smirko, Bakine chamomile - are available in more than 300 specialised stores and pharmacies/herbal pharmacies, and they recently signed a contract with the shopping giant, Konzum. They also work with the wholesale drugstore Medika d.d. and in parallel develop sales through the Kupicaj webshop and the international TEA2SHOP webshop. They want to further develop, grow, continue to improve their production and gradually introduce new products.

"Every year we record a steady growth in demand and sales on the Croatian market and abroad. By the end of the year, we'll meet the financial result set at the beginning of the year, despite the pandemic,'' said the owner of the Pampa-tea.

The Krznaric family advises people to be responsible and to strengthen their immunity by, among other things, drinking tea.

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ZAGREB, Aug 25, 2020 - In April 2020, companies in Croatia borrowed HRK 10 billion to finance overheads or rollover loans, which was a record high borrowing in the last five years, Vecernji List daily said on Tuesday.

At that time the COVID-19 pandemic halted the operations of almost one in five companies, notably those affected the most by social distancing, as a result of which their revenues in the first month of quarantine dropped over 90%.

Due to the latent danger of the reactivation of the same or similar viruses, companies whose business requires close contact with clients will have to restructure their business models, the Croatian National Bank (HNB) says in an analysis.

Borrowing in 2019 was dominated by new loans for current assets and investment, but since the epidemic outbreak, there have been virtually no investment loans. In March, April, and June, between 85,000 and 100,000 legal entities with nearly 600,000 employees in total received HRK 6 billion in job-retention aid. Over 90% of those entities were micro-enterprises.

The aid helped them to survive and swiftly adapt their operations, the HNB says, warning that extending non-selective aid in the long term could keep companies with untenable business models on the market as well, slowing down the redirecting of funds to healthy companies expected to help with economic recovery.

Zeljko Lovrincevic of the Zagreb Institute of Economics believes the demand for borrowing will increase because tax payment deferrals are no longer in force.

The HNB notes that many companies have swiftly adapted their business models through digitalisation and by relying on delivery channels for their goods and services. Some sectors have additionally profited such as IT solutions providers and courier services, the daily said.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

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As Novac writes on the 23rd of August, 2020, the Governor of the Croatian National Bank (CNB/HNB), Boris Vujcic, said as a guest on HTV's Dnevnik that at this moment in time, given the fact that the results from the Croatian tourism sector are better than predicted, a smaller decline in GDP can be expected. He stated that as long as something unforeseen doesn't happen, strong recovery of the Croatian economy is possible next year.

This, he noted, will also depend on other branches of the economy and on what will happen with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in autumn. Boris Vujcic also announced the strong growth of public debt this year, while it is expected to fall again next year. The CNB estimates that the share of public debt in GDP would increase from 73 to 87 percent of GDP this year.

"Public debt will increase more this year than the total reduction of public debt was from 2014 to last year. We've had a continuous reduction in public debt and will now come to 87, almost 90 percent in one year. It's good that we can see a reduction in public debt next year, because we expect the strong recovery of the economy,'' said Boris Vujcic.

When asked what citizens can expect, Boris Vujcic said that a further drop in interest rates should be expected as we approach entry into the Eurozone. He also supported the claim that interest rates are currently at the historically lowest levels with the fact that those on housing loans have now reached about 2.5 percent, from some 3 percent back in 2019.

Asked about the possible impact of the coronavirus crisis on the banking system, Vujcic said that the economy will fall sharply this year and banks will feel the consequences in terms of reduced revenues, reduced profits, and some will have losses.

''However, the banks are very well capitalised, so they're able to withstand the decline in results this year. And in that sense, savings are safe,'' the governor said.

When asked about estimates of unemployment, he reminded us of the fact that the biggest contraction in Croatia's economic activity was recorded in the second quarter of 2020 and that part of the effects of rising unemployment will be seen in the fourth quarter. However, this growth will not be nearly as strong as it was after the financial crisis of 2008. Boris Vukcic estimates that it will be relatively moderate.

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As Novac writes on the 23rd of August, 2020, the Voice of Entrepreneurs Association (Glas Udruga Poduzetnika) recently issued the warning that the subsidies for preserving jobs for businesses, issued as a welcome move by the Croatian Government as a packet of economic measures, haven't been paid for as many as two thirds of Croatian companies for July, and for some didn't even receive payments for June.

"In the survey we conducted among our members, as many as 76 percent of them pointed out that they haven't yet received government support for July, while 8 percent of them haven't even received support for June. We're really talking about a large percentage here, and what's even more worrying is the fact that there are funds for it! Namely, Finance Minister Zdravko Maric says as much in the media, but the money obviously isn't reaching the addresses of the users. The Minister is just transfering inquiries into the matter to the Croatian Employment Service (CES),'' stated the aforementioned association.

They also pointed out that the director of the CES states in the media that the grants for June will be paid out as of August the 20th, and so he doesn't see the problem of it being a month late. He explains this by saying that CES employees had to coordinate their vacations themselves.

"It's inadmissible, obviously due to annual leave, to leave the beneficiaries of measures without any funds for the payment of salaries. In this crisis situation, the CES must adjust its resources and the way it works. In this way, an additional gap is created between the public and private sectors, because while some are on paid vacations, others have absolutely nothing,'' they stated.

The association also warned that Croatian companies and other business entitites, who have sent inquiries and complaints to the CES, have been waiting for an answer for more than a month now.

"At a time when they need information more than ever, they can't get it. There are, of course, exceptions, but it seems that the organisation within the CES itself has failed. Recently, on behalf of our members, we sent an inquiry on this topic to the Ministry of Labour. We're waiting for an answer,'' it states in the association's announcement.

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The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has seen many a planned investment grind to a halt or even be flushed down the proverbial toilet, but Pevex (formerly Pevec) is steaming ahead with its investment plans for autumn, regardless of the economic threat the pandemic continues to pose.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes on the 21st of August, 2020, Pevex has big plans for the cooler months, and the virus isn't going to get in its way.

''The coronavirus pandemic has taught us that we need to act quickly, so we're stepping up the momentum in which we're continuing one of our main business determinants - investing in expanding the retail network with two new sales centres per year in places with more than 15,000 inhabitants, but we're not going to just stop there,'' said Jurica Lovrincevic, the President of the Management Board of Pevex in conversation with Poslovni dnevnik.

In order to be more accessible to an even larger number of consumers at no additional cost, they are launching, he added, a business model with delivery centres modeled on those of the wildly popular Ikea, which involves some leased space at Pevex's centre in Pula. However, Pevex’s model is different, and developed solely for its needs.

Two such centres are planned to open by the end of the year - one will cover up to to 500 m2 and the other will cover up to 1000 m2, and the others will open throughout 2021 in a number of Croatian cities. Gospic, Ogulin, Otocac, Zabok, Krapina and Knin are the first announced locations in which Pevex looking for landlords, but other locations are also possible, according to the main man of Pevex.

Due to such and similar investment activities, regardless of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Pevex's new projects are welcomed across all local communities and among potential partners with whom they're negotiating. It could therefore be concluded that many want Pevex as an investor to come to them in one way or another with any type of centre and develop a business at their location, pay local taxes and most importantly - employ local people.

In this sense, the project that Lovrincevic says is considered the crown of the new development phase of Pevex - a large logistics and distribution centre near Zagreb, stands out.

He says that many mayors and other such individuals in the Zagreb area want to attract this mega investment. As things stand, strong competition in the background is evolving in the real estate market, apparently further fueled by reduced demand due to the coronavirus crisis, which Pevex didn't expect.

"We received about 20 calls in a week from a number of local self-government units, as well as from private investors. All of them are offering us space for the construction of a unique logistics centre which will cover more than 60,000 m2, the investment value of which is 300 million kuna, while for the total realisation, we're looking for land covering 200,000 m2.

The investment study was made by Deloitte and shows how construction within the 30-kilometre ring in Zagreb is possible, provided it is connected to the motorway network,'' explained Lovrincevic, adding that the best offer will be selected by the end of the year.

The number of centres where Pevex operates has already grown significantly when compared to the situation when financial and ownership restructuring was carried out. With 8 centres before bankruptcy, and with a new one set to open in Vinkovci, the number rose to 26 centres, and this data confirms that the coronavirus, as well as the significant loss of revenue of about 100 million kuna they suffered during lockdown, failed to slow down Pevex's investments, nor did it manage to reshape the company's investment plans.

The expansion plan on both the continent and on the Adriatic includes two new centres next year - in Pozega and Porec, and the company is benefiting from a special circumstance in which they have developed their own capacities to quickly implement new projects.

"Two new projects that we've realised this year in regard to property actually owned by us are the centres in Vinkovci and Slavonski Brod. We'll organise the opening of the Vinkovci centre in the first week of September, while in Slavonski Brod, where we're leaving the leased space and opening a new centre in our own property, we'll open exactly a month later,'' announced Lovrincevic.

When asked what the predictions are regarding business risks, especially taking into account the dark forecasts of the deepening economic crisis, layoffs and reduced employment, with a negative impact on the personal consumption factor, the Pevex boss responded:

"If a severe crisis comes, it will be at the expense of our profits, not at the expense of Pevex's development. We've accumulated reserves that are the basis and the answer, so we're ready for all scenarios.''

Pevex's investments this year also include an investment in the coastal town of Makarska which will take place this autumn. Pevex is moving to a leased space in a shopping centre that was owned by the former Agrokor (now Fortenova), but was sold to a Dutch fund and has been used by Konzum and Velpro so far.

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Leo Greguric from Zagreb is no ordinary teenager from the Croatian capital. He has his own business in parallel with his education, and he's doing excellently.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sergej Novosel Vuckovic writes on the 16th of August, 2020, by the time kids hit about fourteen years old, most are at an often complicated crossroads in life. They're the stage of transition, not quite a child and not quite an adult, and they develop their own preferences and play sports, study computers, music, learn new technologies, "hunt" for girls or boys and most of all - they want to build an identity.

Who would have thought of doing something else, and to do it so seriously? Leo Greguric is a remarkable young man who had such ambition and now hehas a company in which he is a “director” with three years of experience, all before even coming of age! Leo Greguric runs 3DGlobe from Zagreb, which deals with 3D pressing.

"While I was still in primary school, I had a great desire to start my own small business and to run it in parallel with my high school education. Before I started the company, I bought a small 3D printer from a then-new American startup via Kickstarter. After a few months of use, I ran out of filament (plastic) and wanted to buy more. The closest representative for that was in Poland, so the idea for representation in Croatia came to me. It was a trigger and the whole idea of ​​what I wanted to do suddenly formed in my head,'' the innovative Leo Greguric explained.

Noting that, of course, he shares other interests with his peers, moreover, skiing in winter and windsurfing in summer, but he added a little more to that list. In the beginning, only a few of his closest friends knew about the company, and over time more and more of them came to find out about it: "Some of them showed more interest, so I told them in more detail." His professors, however, still weren't aware of the business venture.

''I never told them about the company. I remember in 1st grade I gave a presentation on 3D printing in a computer science class, and the teacher praised me and then I said that in my free time I do 3D printing, and she gave me some really nice words of support. I didn’t say own a company, it was still early days back then and I didn’t have the courage to say something like that. Maybe I should have,'' Leo said honestly.

Since he couldn't register the company himself as a minor, his father helped him, enabling his son's business to be formally run through his company GWT, which deals with development and investments in new buildings in Zagreb. But despite the fact that his father got the ball rolling legally, Leo remains the boss at 3DGlobe.

''I'm the founder and CEO. In principle, I do everything myself, and my dad helps me out if something isn't clear to me about the paperwork, and he also supervises the issuance of invoices; I will turn 18 in November and I don't have a plan to form my own company yet,'' said the young man, who fell in love with this sort of technology while reading Bug magazine.

''I came across 3D printing while spending some time googling about novelties on the tech scene. I immediately became very interested in it,'' he noted, while when asked what trends prevail in technology today, he modestly replied:

"I'm not a big expert on that. I focus on 3D print technologies, and the trend is the rapid development of technologies and reducing the price of 3D printers with a parallel increase in print quality. As for technologies that aren't to do with 3D printing, I think that augmented reality, as well as artificial intelligence (AI) and software in general, especially solutions for companies, are a lucrative business in Croatia,'' said Leo Greguric.

Regarding the activities of the company 3DGlobe, Leo says that the printing equipment in three dimensions includes 3D printers, materials for 3D printing, as well as some spare parts and various accessories. He currently sells two different types of 3D printers, as well as suitable materials. In addition to sales, the company also offers 3D printing services for others.

''We started out with the 3D printing service later. We do everything, and our clients are diverse. Individuals will order some items in small quantities that they need or want, but can't buy. For example, figurines, but also some buckles modelled on the original that broke and can't be easily bought. Legal entities that have so far ordered from us, for example, include architectural offices and dental offices. For the architects, we printed a larger quantity of house models, and helped the dentists in making tooth models. If I had to single out something unusual, then it's the order of a custom propeller for a drone,'' Leo Greguric recalled.

Leo has every right to be more than satisfied with his business. “From the beginning, my dream has been to secure sales every month. That goal has been achieved so I'm now focusing on growing those sales. Revenues have been present every month for the last year and a half, and there's a profit. These are nice numbers that provide me with some solid "pocket money". Formally speaking, I'm the only one who works in the company, but my cousin Ian helps me,'' said the young technology entrepreneur who wants to enroll in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER).

"If that doesn't go according to plan, then I'll consider options like FSB (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture), and maybe something else," Leo Greguric said.

Leo was asked whether or not he thinks that the STEM field is sufficiently represented in the Croatian education system, to which he responded:

"The other day I saw a post on social media in the form of statistics that say that Croatia is among the leading countries in Europe in terms of introducing STEM in education and the results of young people in competitions. Accordingly, I'd say that STEM is sufficiently represented. We can always do more and better, but we're on the right track,'' said the young man, whose role model in running the company and the overall organisation is his father.

''I can see first hand and learn every day what it looks like to run a successful private company that he started all on his own. Regarding the development of technology in Croatia, Mate Rimac is the obvious answer. He's an inspiration to me because he has proven that in Croatia it's possible to develop and work around high-tech products, but it's equally inspiring that he creates great jobs in Croatia and is a respected employer,'' concluded Leo Greguric.

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