July 25, 2020 - What is the awareness of the new functioning of the market and the willingness for necessary changes?

One of the long-term goals of UGP is the development of entrepreneurial, proactive, and creative culture and mindset. We have identified the various training needs of our members, and with the development of the Association, this will undoubtedly become one of the most significant advantages. Given that we are facing a large-scale crisis in a global context, aside from focusing on short-term measures for the survival of companies, we wanted to turn to the changes that will be required in the medium or long term. Considering the unpredictability of the time ahead, it is necessary to strengthen the capabilities of entrepreneurs and their firms in several ways – through new knowledge, attitudes, relationships, values, and interests. To get as much information as possible about the entrepreneur's current activities related to the upcoming period, we asked them, "What are entrepreneurs doing with their business to prepare/adapt to the new circumstances?"

The most significant number of our members, 46% responded that they are optimizing current business processes and human resources, which is very logical and necessary. About 20% said they are developing new methods or remodeling old ones, while 3% is changing the customer pool, which is a slightly higher level of innovation, but the question remains, will this be enough? 11% of responders say they are changing the entire structure of the firm to adapt, and here we can add some just above 5% of those who say they are completely changing both the market and services and are turning to new deals. Relatively small, but not negligible 8% take the financial support and wait for the situation to normalize, and about 5% plan to close the company and transfer their business to another country.

These results leave room for moderate concern. Even though more than 60% of firms are making some changes, only 16% of them are considering the sharp turns that would be required in the worst-case scenario. Of course, it seems that this threatens to disappear more than 13% of firms that passively wait for the situation to develop and hope or leave the country.

Given this situation, it was also logical to check what entrepreneurs thought might lead to their launch and help them start looking for new business models and faster changes that would be required. We got polarizing but very interesting answers to this question: more than 57% understand that measures are not a long-term solution and that they should be canceled relatively quickly (in a matter of months) because people avoid changes until they are forced to. The second answer is given by 23% of respondents who think the opposite – that it is necessary to extend existing measures as long as possible to get time for the required transformation. We believe this is a good indicator of how awareness is growing. It's becoming clear that dependence on government subsidies can't last and that entrepreneurs will have to be even more entrepreneurial.

Finally, we asked our members, "How much time and energy have you invested in developing new ideas and ways of doing business over the past few months?"

About 55% said that they are actively working on new business opportunities and that this is their primary focus, which we think is the right answer. Just above 26% admitted that they did very little to deal with it and mostly focused on crisis and survival. A moderate 14% have adapted somewhat, but plan to continue working on it, and again 3% say their option is to go to another country.

At a time when the necessary reforms are expected to be implemented by the new Government, and in a situation that has already caused the departure of some foreign firms (the latest case is Meggle), it is clear that the fight for the economy and maintaining the quality of life will be tough and will require complete solutions. As a country, we must become more competitive, the four postulates of UGP must be implemented to facilitate business, reduce bureaucracy and administration, ensure that justice is better and faster met, and control all costs well while avoiding clientelism. On the other hand, this will also not be enough if entrepreneurs themselves do not take huge steps and change the strategies and ways of doing business, and some of the industries in which they work. Because of this, UGP supports the lifelong education and progress of the entrepreneurs, which it will also actively work on, hoping to create a positive entrepreneurial climate in the country as soon as possible. If that does not happen, and from these figures, you can calculate black scenarios and a drop in GDP, which will be estimated in tens of percentage points.

***

The GLAS PODUZETNIKA Initiative started as a citizens' self-organized group, most of which are small entrepreneurs, after the announcement of the first set of Government's measures, which the organizers deemed insufficient. The Initiative assembled more than 100,000 entrepreneurs, small business owners, self-employed, and the employees in the private sector in less than 15 days, drawing the media spotlight with its uncompromising requests and appearances. Considering this, GLAS PODUZETNIKA positioned itself as a relevant factor in public discussions aimed to determine Croatia's new economic direction. Its position was also confirmed by the Government of the Republic of Croatia, which has included some of the Initiative's suggestions in the second set of economic measures, thus confirming Initiative's undeniable influence. At the request of the Initiative's members, the GLAS PODUZETNIKA Association was established, gathering more than 12,000 members. More than 200,000 Croatian citizens support the Association.

For the latest on the Glas Poduzetnika initiative, follow the dedicated TCN section.

ZAGREB, July 17, 2020 - The Voice of Entrepreneurs association (UGP) believes that it is necessary to write off income taxes and contributions until at least September, warning that rules are virtually being changed on a daily basis which does not contribute to stabilising business operations.

"We consider that tax and contribution write-offs should continue until September at least, particularly since this affects the most vulnerable companies in tourism, hospitality, transport and similar sectors," the head of the UGP, Hrvoje Bujas, told Hina.

"We see that the rules and concepts are being changed practically every day which, along with the uncertainty caused by the pandemic and two-month lockdown of business operations, is certainly not good for any attempt to stabilise and adapt business," said Bujas.

Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said on Thursday that more than 90,000 taxpayers had requested a deferment or write-off of their tax liabilities which amounted to a total of HRK 5.3 billion, saying that these measures referred to April, May, and June and would not be extended.

ZAGREB, June 30, 2020 - Entrepreneurs expect the next government to urgently adopt structural reforms and define a clear economic strategy, according to an online round table organised on Tuesday by the Croatian Employers Association (HUP) and Vecernji List daily.

HUP director-general Davor Majetic said that due to the coronacrisis, there was mainly talk about short term measures, but added that structural reforms must not be forgotten.

He said the next government should continue with the measures to help the economy and retain jobs as well as implement structural reforms from day one. "They have never been more important."

Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said the government must create conditions for the economy to function as well as possible by reducing taxes and non-tax as well as administrative levies and by improving the investment climate.

He said the coronacrisis had shown that the economy could not function without a stable and strong state. He said the state should not be too involved but that, in partnership with businesses, it should decide which industries were strategic and base growth rates on them.

Maric said the EU's Recovery Fund was a big opportunity for Croatia and that it was necessary to start preparing projects.

Josip Tica of the Restart Coalition said strategic sectors should be in the function of added value and that it was necessary to stimulate consumption and investment. He also underlined digital transformation.

June 30 - UGP conducted several surveys among its members on the topic of the justice system. The results are devastating, but unfortunately, expected. The slow and inefficient judicial system is also, according to entrepreneurs, one of the main problems of Croatian society. The UGP believes that legal reform should be one of the first reforms of the new Government.

One of the UGP's postulates is #morejustice, and one of the reforms we requested from the Croatian Government applies to the Croatian justice system. Even though the trust in the justice system is generally on a low level, it seems like it is also a more significant stumbling block for entrepreneurs and a barrier in the business.

For this reason, we asked entrepreneurs more questions to process the topic better and try to find out where all the reasons for such deep dissatisfaction lie.

The first question was, "What is the role of the judicial system in the exercise of entrepreneurs' rights?" Only 0.5% of respondents think that the system helps significantly, as it should. The same number of respondents think exactly the opposite: the justice system substantially makes things worse, 0.5%. Very few, 1.4% think that the justice system moderately helps, making the overall positive perception under 2%. 17.7% think that the justice system does not help entrepreneurs. The largest category, 80% of respondents say, "Come on, please..." which suggests that the condition is so bad that there is no point in answering the question on any positive impact. This level of resignation is the first sign to raise the alarm. 

The second question was about the length of litigations, given that both the viability of the business and the survival of the firm can often depend on it. We received responses about the duration of legal proceedings that our members conducted or are conducting: only 2.2% say the proceedings lasted under two years, which we consider a reasonable deadline. Another 5.9% said that the procedures lasted for a somewhat acceptable 2 to 5 years. The most significant number of votes — 47.8% — went to the answer "more than five years." This time range doesn't make much sense in the business context. Up to 33% say that the procedures lasted more than ten years, which is entirely unacceptable.

The latest information is that almost 11% say they had or still have proceedings going on for more than 20 years! We don't even know how to comment on this last part.

Part of the reason for the great disappointment in the justice system is probably due to the difference between expectations and the reality of the speed and effectiveness of the system. Answers to the question, "How long, in your opinion, can a court proceeding last?" For a reasonable timeline — up to 18 months, voted about 18% of respondents, while only about 1% of respondents agree that a reasonable time frame is over 18 months. The remaining approx. 80% think that the court proceedings should last less than 18 months — of which the most significant number, 54% of them, feel that they should last up to 6 months. Others suggest even shorter deadlines of no more than three months or only a month. From this data, we can see that there is almost no overlap between the periods that entrepreneurs consider necessary and what is happening in reality. There are only 2.2% of processes that last less than two years.

With the question, "What is the Croatian justice system's biggest problem?" we checked why the results are so bad. We got the following answers: Just under 11% think that the reason is a particular element — corruption. About 9% believe that the reason is general inefficiency, and over 3% believe the reasons are political pressures and the slowness that favors the legal framework. Interestingly, less than 2% of respondents added the lack of funds and ignorance, as the answers. We are left with the answer with the highest percentage of votes, more than 70%, which says that all of the above is the cause of the problem and that it makes no sense to single out something individually. According to previous results, a negligible 0.2% believe that there is no problem.

Additional information about a burning issue and what should be addressed first in some reforms, we got with the question, "What should be resolved first in the judicial system?"
Almost 61% of respondents believe that it is corruption. The second answer in size is speed, chosen by about 16% of respondents. About 12% of respondents think that all of the mentioned should be addressed along with many other things.

And the last part of the picture of Croatian justice is the perception of whether any changes are taking place. We asked our members if there are any reasons for hope and positivity, "How has the Croatian justice system been in the last few years?" We hoped to find at least the hints of a positive trend. Here are the answers: The most significant number of respondents — almost 58% believe that the condition is nearly as bad, and there are no changes. A great 39.5% believe that even this awful situation is not stable, but rather that things are getting worse and worse. Only 1.3% think that we are making progress, but not enough. And alone again, negligible 0.2% believe that the justice system is getting better and more effective.

The conclusion is that Croatian entrepreneurs, who barely survive anyway, have very little confidence that the judicial system will help them professionally, objectively, and effectively. Given the speed of activities in the business world, the slowness of the legal system is catastrophic, and fewer people are counting on it. The main problem is corruption, more precisely the perception of corruption in the justice system, and hopelessness because things do not improve, and even go backward from year to year. The examples we got when doing surveys are numerous, and many of them sound unbelievable. For all these reasons, it is clear how the Glas poduzetnika Association will advocate for significant reforms and changes in the judicial system's work. Without it, as an integral part of the reforms that we demand, it will not be possible to ensure prosperity in the state because we want to see Croatia 2.0 as soon as possible!

"Justice system as the gangrene of the Croatia society is a phrase that has been used in the public space ever since the foundation of Independent Croatia. It's been used so much that it has lost its force at the same time, but unfortunately not the meaning and truthfulness.

By everything we've been served for many years, it appears that justice reform is an impossible mission, and the goal may not be easily achievable, but it is feasible. Many states we try to look upon achieved it before us. That cannot be done without a clear plan, decisions, and deadlines for their implementation, which would lead us to open the same subjects on some future elections again. UGP will closely monitor the politicians' work and their public actions to influence the judicial system to stop being mentioned in a negative context." said Hrvoje Bujas, president of the Glas Poduzetnika Association.

ZAGREB, June 18, 2020 - The Croatian government on Thursday amended the HAMAG-BICRO agency's schemes for loans for working capital for businesses affected by the coronavirus crisis and ESIF guarantees, with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic saying that this would enable the granting of further loans to entrepreneurs.

Plenkovic told a government session that businesses had made good use of loans intended to help businesses affected by the coronavirus crisis and that so far 5,128 requests worth HRK 343 million had been submitted by 900 businesses.

This is an important government measure that makes it possible to keep jobs, said Plenkovic, noting that the amendment of the schemes would help provide further loans for Croatian entrepreneurs.

Economy Minister Darko Horvat recalled that the government in March adopted changes to HAMAG-BICRO's schemes "ESIF micro and small loans" and "ESIF guarantees", while on April 2 a decision was made to adopt the scheme "COVID-19 working capital loans."

In order to help member-countries make the most of the flexibility envisaged by rules on state support for the business sector affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Commission adopted a document called the Temporary Framework, said Horvat.

Based on that document, HAMAG-BICRO defined a support scheme which the EC approved on May 12 and which envisages loans in the total amount of HRK 350 million as well as support in the form of guarantees worth HRK 420 million, to be issued until 31 December 2020, said Horvat.

Specifically, EU member-states are enabled to grant state support to micro, small and medium-sized businesses for urgent liquidity needs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, in the amount of up to €800,000 for COVID-19 working capital loans, said the minister.

Horvat also said that up to one million euros would be provided for ESIF guarantees, as would a combination of measures from the Temporary Framework with support of small value, for urgent liquidity needs.

ZAGREB, June 5, 2020 - Leader of the Restart coalition and of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Davor Bernardic said on Friday that the state has to adapt to citizens and entrepreneurs and to save their time and money, improve the quality of life for citizens and the economy's competitiveness.

"Citizens need to be offered a palette of services that will make state and public administration more accessible, save time and money and improve the quality of life and provide enterprises with a series of tools that will boost their competitiveness, automate them and relieve administrative burdens while ensuring the digital transformation of state and public administration aimed at improving efficiency and accessibility for citizens," he said presenting the coalition's digital transformation plank.

Tool against corruption 

Digital transformation is one of the basic tools against corruption. All of the state's spending has to be publicly accessible in the one place, he said. The public should know who uses official vehicles and for what, who receives agricultural subsidies and all public procurement has to be visible, he added. 

Digitisation of public administration could increase public sector efficiency by 52% by 2030, Mihael Zmajlovic said.

The ICT sector accounts for 5% of GDP and it is estimated that that share can be doubled particularly since the EU has allocated €2 billion for that sector's development, he added.

Celebrated Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac discusses Rimac Automobili's new partnership with Hyundai and Kia Motors, how he plans to give a certain percentage of the company to its employees, revenue, the future, and more.

As Jutarnji list/Gordana Grgas writes on the 14th of May, 2019, after it was announced that the Hyundai and Kia Motors had decided to invest a massive 600 million kuna in capital into Rimac Automobili, Mate Rimac announced in an interview for Jutarnji list that he would give seven percent of the company to his employees, from the cleaners to the directors.

We're bringing you the English translation of that interview here.

Why has Rimac Automobili entered into a partnership with Hyundai?

"We've been in contact with them for a couple of years and have been cooperating with them for a few years. They sent a strong delegation to us and, as soon as they saw the company, as soon as they saw what we were doing, they decided to invest immediately. In October last year they gave us an offer and we entered into negotiations. To have a partnership with such a company is very important for us. When looking at comparisons, they have a revenue of 250 billion euros, which is four times more than the Croatian GDP, and we're also working directly with the administration. Euisun Chung, who was there upon signing the contract, is the executive vice president, the grandson of Hyundai's founder, who's now taking over the firm from his father.

We're quick, small and innovative, we see and create the future and that's very interesting to them, this is hugely important for us because, on the one hand, we've got the Volkswagen Group and Porsche, and then we've got Hyundai and Kia on the other, and we've been so busy with work with these companies that we don't know where we're going!

The best thing is that they're not just buyers of our products but also shareholders, therefore it's in their interest that the company succeeds. They will help us build faster in areas where we may have some weaknesses, for example in industrialisation, in the transition from small-scale to large serial production.

Today, we're dealing with very complex systems for large car manufacturers, power systems, batteries, electronics, etc., we've achieved all that very quickly, but we need strategic partnerships. It's very difficult, especially moving from small to large series. We need money to help the company achieve its goals. We invest a lot, we're constantly expanding our plants, we employ more than 500 people, more than 300 engineers... We're not like the others, we're not wired money from the state but we get our money on the international market, and there's nowhere better to find money than with a company that really understands what you're doing, which is a partner and also a buyer,'' stated Mate Rimac.

What's the ownership structure of Rimac Automobili like now? You said you wouldn't remain the majority owner...

"Now I have .. (looks at his phone) Just a second, I have all of that in a document..."

Do you not know what your share is now? Does that not matter to you?

''Well, that's not important to me. People don't really understand that. I'm killing myself with this job and I'd be the happiest man in the world if there was someone who could run the company better than me, so I could just do what I like doing, the technical part of things. Now I'm the executive and technical director, and now I hold 47.7 percent, the Chinese camel group holds 14 percent, Hyundai has 11 percent, Porsche has 10 percent, Kia has 2.7 percent, and the remaining shares belong to the investors from 2012 and 2013.''

Are the employees among the co-owners?

"No, but we're working on that now, all of the employees will get a share, up until now, the ESOP was not worth it for them because of the tax. They'll probably get seven percent, from the cleaners to the directors, but not everyone will get the same share.''

How much is Rimac Automobili worth now?

"More than 500 million euros."

Why did not you not get to capital through an IPO, on the stock market?

''A lot of technology companies are now doing IPOs and they're actually losing money, they still have no stable and profitable business. Let's say Lyft, Uber or Snapchat... I don't want that. I want to make an IPO when the company's numbers are at that level. The company's potential is huge, and we have now used a piece of it and it's a shame to go out out onto the stock market with this company's situation. In 3-4-5 years, it will be at a completely different level. Besides, we have good access to capital outside of the stock market, we've got that luxury.''

How much was Rimac Automobili's income last year?

''I wouldn't go into income, there are no final reports yet. That's not our focus either, but a long-term trend. Here's an example - the car that we're developing for Hyundai now goes into serial production in 2023 only. Those are the cycles of our projects and to us, as well as to our shareholders, it's really neither here nor there what the financial outcome will be for this year or for next year, we're building a long-term story.''

Are you making a profit or are you still in the minus?

''We were still in the minus last year because we invested a lot. It's important to note that this minus comes from shareholder money, and everyone agrees that it's the company's plan.''

What will you specifically use this 600 million kuna for?

''For many things. This is part of our C investment round, and we'll still have investors in this round for another 70 million euros, but we don't know who that will be for now, but they will probably be financial investors. One of the things we will invest in is building our campus, our development and research centre and our factory, and another company expansion, employing a lot of people and equipping the company. For the transition to serial production, it's necessary to equip our production plants, test our products, develop them right up to the end, certify them... It's a big thing.''

Where will the new campus be? And what will be there?

''We're planning a campus for 2000 people because we want to have a longer-term solution. The headquarters of the company will also be there, as well as the development and research centre, production, testing, there'll be a hotel for guests and employees coming from elsewhere, kindergartens for employees' kids, restaurants, food production, hairdressers, sports facilities... I want it all to be integrated there.''

Where will this be located and when will you embark on construction?

''Near Zagreb. The location hasn't yet been agreed, we're look at a few of them, we're negotiating. Construction should start early next year.''

I guess the campus will be a little special in the aesthetic sense.

''Nine international and several Croatian architectural studies are currently working on suggestions for conceptual solutions for the campus. Among them was Lord Foster (British architect Norman Foster), we had a meeting the other day. He worked on Apple's campus and many other world-famous buildings. Everyone is so excited about this project and offering some great suggestions. They tell me that there's no such thing anywhere else, the combination I want - the campus being open to the public, the care for the employees and the connection with nature.''

The serial production of your C-Two has been announced for next year. Where are you going to do this?

''We got a hall in Veliko Trgovišće (Krapina-Zagorje County). The C-Two prototypes are still being done in Sveta Nedelja, and when we finish them, we'll move the manufacturing of the prototypes to Veliko Trgovišće. We already produce the batteries and the power systems there because we're out of space here. We're now there in five buildings and we were looking for something a bit closer to Sveta Nedelja, but there was just nothing there. Since there is no industry in Croatia, there's not much out there to rent. So now we're in Veliko Trgovišće, and we have centres in Split and in Osijek.''

Why did you open them there, so scattered apart?

''We grew so quickly over the last year. We now have fifteen engineers in Split, and about ten in Osijek, ane they're now our competence centres - in Split, we do our own automotive software development tool operation, and we deal with our high voltage chargers in Osijek.''

The prime minister has never been in your facility?

''No, never. To make it clearer, I don't ask for anything from the government. All I do is to urge the government to do the right thing to bring the car industry to Croatia. I have proved that it's possible.''

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and Made in Croatia pages for more information on Mate Rimac, Rimac Automobili, entrepreneurship, manufacturing, production and business in Croatia and much, much more.

Click here for the original interview/article by Gordana Grgas for Jutarnji list

When it comes to results, Croatia's Include published an impressive 115 percent growth in revenue in the first quarter of the year, and an average selling price growth of almost 40 percent.

As Tomislav Pili/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 23rd of April, 2019, one of the main stars of the Croatian startup scene, entrepreneur Ivan Mrvoš, is continuing to impress. Just two years after Include's first capitalisation through Funderbeam, recapitalisation is about to happen again, aiming this time at almost ten times the amount. Before today's public announcement of the campaign, Include's main man revealed that his company, which is a top Croatian manufacturer of solar powered benches, is collecting part of the finances through Funderbeam while the other part will be provided by private investors.

"After the successful first round of investment back in 2017, when we raised about 3.5 million kuna with a 30 million kuna valuation, we decided to enter a new round of recapitalisation. We didn't set a fixed amount, but we expect that the investment will be at least 20 million kuna, with the potential to reach approximately 30 million kuna. As for Funderbeam's part of the investment, we're expecting to raise about 10 million kuna through the platform,'' said Include's boss Ivan Mrvoš. At the moment, he has secured about 10 million kuna from the Funderbeam platform and is actively discussing the additional funds with several potential investors, including private individuals and venture capital funds.

"Right now, I can't say which investors are involved, but they're people who have led or are currently leading various Croatian industries, which we consider to be a significant indicator," he pointed out. When asked how much shares in Include now sell for and how much the company is valued at, Include's founder explained that things are a bit different now than they were back in 2017.

"The company has four years of business behind it and some remarkable results have come to fruition, so we decided to hire one of the companies from ''The Big Four'' to do a valuation. What I can say is that it was a very intensive process that lasted for several months, and the company was estimated at 110 million kuna last week,'' says Mrvoš.

"The company ended last year with a positive result, and we also continued things successfully during the first quarter of this year, with 60,000 kuna of net profit," Mrvoš revealed.

The collected money will certainly go into the development of existing markets, but also to conquering new markets.

"We intend to strengthen our presence on existing markets and continue to build a global distribution network. In addition, we're beginning with the development of new products that will be complementary for the existing markets, and intended for those same markets, and we'll also get some more advanced equipment for our development and production activities,'' explained the talented young entrepreneur.

The trading of Include's tokens at Funderbeam was stopped on April the 1st this year due to campaign preparation, and the latest market price is 3.5 euros. The director of Funderbeam Damir Bićanić explained that the price of the shares will not be one euro as they usually are in Funderbeam's campaigns, but higher, meaning more specifically that they'll reflect the company's new valuation.

The leading investor, as was the case in 2017, will be Ivana Šoljan who says that Include will certainly pass at least one recapitalisation, and "hopefully maybe go to the stock market in the future.''

"Mr Ivan Mrvoš and his whole team have advanced tremendously. Organisationally, they did well, they wrote regular reports to investors, they're not late with deliveries, they plan things smartly - they're ready for a new round,'' concluded Šoljan.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and Made in Croatia pages for much more.

Click here for the original article by Tomislav Pili for Poslovni Dnevnik

''The most important thing is to have a clear plan and a vision and to be persistent and never give up, because every good idea will find its way to a buyer,'' this was the message sent out to those thinking of becoming Croatian entrepreneurs.

As Ivan Tominac/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 18th of April, 2019, an event organised by Vecernji list and Poslovni dnevnik has the ultimate goal of which is the retention of young educated people in Croatia, and after Osijek, the event will move to Koprivnica, two continental Croatian regions which are often overlooked.

The event will include a tender for student development projects, round tables and forums entitled ''Future in Croatia'' which will be held across six Croatian cities in cooperation with six universities and a traveling exhibition to mark the the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Večernji list. In Koprivnica, the event will be held in cooperation with the North University on Tuesday at 10:00. Croatia's Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli will give his view of Croatia and available opportunities, and before that, the event will be bringing two stories from Koprivnica that prove that you definitely can succeed in Croatia.

Boris Poljak, the owner of the Pobis company, noted at the very beginning of the conversation that entrepreneurship is not easy but challenging as the market does indeed offer countless possibilities, but whether or not we're successful is down to nobody and nothing but us.

"Being an entrepreneur depends on the person, and not on the place he's in. If one has the will and the desire to be an entrepreneur, then he won't care whether he's doing it in Croatia, Austria, Germany, or elsewhere," Boris Poljak said. For success, it's important to abide by the established plan and rules of the game, ie, certain legal frameworks.

According to him, young people aren't going straight into business today, but instead, they're moving into ''entrepreneurial waters'' because they want to ensure a secure existence for themselves. "The statistics on the opening and the closing of companies is proof of this. Unfortunately, many people don't succeed, but there are many who do succeed and who achieve excellent results here, and more and more are doing so internationally. Running your own business today doesn't require that much capital," Poljak stated with a short and clear message that says that without a clear plan and vision there can be no success.

"You have to work really hard with young people, they're most often not prepared for work and have a lot of prejudices towards employers," emphasised Poljak, adding that in his company he recognised that with the effort and investment poured into young people, he was creating quality staff who could compete on the world market level. Young people are increasingly involved in entrepreneurial ventures, and as a result, there are numerous startups popping up all the time across Croatia, leading to more tenders and investments.

Codebox managed to stumble upon such a welcome fat, the core activity of this organisation is the creation of personalised software, web design, computer equipment maintenance, and processing and data transfer. Martin Kolarić and Filip Stojić began on this path through a startup tender, and today they can safely say that it was a great opportunity to gain new experiences, try out their knowledge and skills and also have some fun.

"For all those who want to be successful, our advice is to work on themselves and their knowledge. A great deal of information is available to all of us and we have the opportunity of continuous learning and training. Innovation and creativity are the most important competencies today, which is why we need to work on our own improvement, this is the only path to real success,'' concluded Martin Kolarić.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for much more.

Click here for the original article by Ivan Tominac for Poslovni Dnevnik

As Adriano Milovan/Novac writes on the 26th of March, 2019, the Croatian municipalities with the largest number of entrepreneurs in the country are Viškovo, Medulin and Matulji, according to FINA's new data on the matter.

According to this new data, 584 entrepreneurs had their headquarters registered in the municipality of Viškovo near Rijeka back in 2017. Following is the municipality of Medulin in Istria, with 508 entrepreneurs having their headquarters located in this area, and the municipality of Matulji near Opatija, with 501 entrepreneurs having their headquarters there.

On the other hand, the smallest number of entrepreneurs (only one) were found in the municipality of Saborsko in Karlovac County. Of 428 Croatian municipalities taken into account according to the number of entrepreneurs based in their territory, Ervenik in Šibenik-Knin County had only two registered entrepreneurs, and Zadvarje in Split-Dalmatia County had a mere three.

In all Croatian municipalities in 2017, a total of 19,821 entrepreneurs had their headquarters in one area or another of the country. They employed a total of 119,787 workers, according to FINA's information. Although differences in the number of registered entrepreneurs among Croatian municipalities are huge and reflect major differences in the degree of development among them.

Only 39 Croatian municipalities had 100 and more entrepreneurs in 2017, according to Fina's data. Between 51 and 99 entrepreneurs could be found across 79 municipalities, and most of the municipalities, as many as 258 of them, boasted between 11 and 50 entrepreneurs. 36 municipalities had between six and 10 entrepreneurs, while 13 municipalities had four or five entrepreneurs. Only three municipalities, Fina's data shows, had just one to three entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs based in municipalities in 2017 realised revenues amounting to 72.8 billion kuna, representing significant growth of 9.7 percent. The expenditures of these companies back in 2017 rose by 10.2 percent. The consolidated net profit of these companies in 2017 stood at 2.8 billion kuna.

Back in 2017, these Croatian companies also achieved great growth in employment. Namely, with respect to the previous business year, employment grew by 7.4 percent, which is more than employment growth in urban businesses, which stood at 5.6 percent in the same period.

The largest number of employees, up to 4,353 in 2017, were employed by companies with their headquarters based in Trnovec Bartolovečki in Varaždin County. Following is the municipality of Stupnik in Zagreb County, with 3,855 employees, and Viškovo, with 2,367 employees in companies registered in the area of ​​that municipality.

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Click here for the original article by Adriano Milovan for Novac/Jutarnji