December 4, 2020 – Founders of Croatian IT companies Nanobit and Infobip are this year's best businessmen in Croatia. According to the choice of the Večernji list and Poslovni dnevnik readers, the businessmen of the year are Silvio and Roberto Kutić and Izabel Jelenić from Infobip, while according to the choice of the expert jury, this award goes to the founders of Nanobit Alan Sumina and Zoran Vučinić.

As Večernji.hr reports, the fifth selection for "Businessman and Economic Event of the Year" was held today, for the first time in the online edition.

The winners were chosen by the readers of Večernji list and Poslovni dnevnik, who decided to give this recognition to Silvija and Robert Kutić and Izabel Jelenić from the Croatian IT company Infobip, which is the first Croatian unicorn (worth more than a billion dollars).

'IT resistant to COVID'

At Infobip in Vodnjan, they are primarily engaged in mobile communication, and one of their clients is WhatsApp. It was founded in 2006, and the founders then had only two laptops and borrowed money from their parents. This year, a foreign investor invested 200 million dollars in Infobip, and today this company is the leader of the Croatian economy.

"We continue to work in order to develop as much as possible," said Silvio Kutić very briefly and clearly, and expressed satisfaction that he and other colleagues from the sector are a positive example from Croatia. Roberto Kutić added that this is an industry that was lucky because it is resistant to COVID, and Izabel Jelenić concluded that they still stick to their motto - they are just at the beginning and there is much more ahead of them.

Growth and competitiveness

For the best economic event of the year, readers chose the selling Nanobit's stake in the company to the Swedish giant Stillfront, and the founders of that company, Alan Sumina and Zoran Vučinić, were chosen as businessmen of the year by the expert jury. Nanobit is a gaming company that, like Infobip, was founded with only two laptops, but with a lot of will and perseverance.

"I am especially pleased to see in whose company we are today. Neither Infinum, nor Infobip, nor Rimac Automobili, nor we did not exist 10-15 years ago or we were so small that we were not interesting to anyone. And today we are representatives not only of the IT industry but of the economy in Croatia in general. Moreover, we show that this is the 'healthiest' part of the Croatian industry that can grow at a rapid pace and be competitive in the global market," said Alan Sumina.

Nanobit made their first million on a fitness app and then started developing games. Today, after 12 years, it has 125 highly educated employees and their games are played monthly by more than 10 million active players worldwide.

"The gaming industry in Croatia is just beginning to develop and although it has experienced great changes in recent years, many times they have experienced it a bit frivolously. If nothing else, now at least that dilemma has been removed and the value of companies like Nanobit has been confirmed, but apart from us, there are many other companies and I think that in the next few years some of them will achieve greater success than us," said Alan Sumina.

Helping the private sector

For the economic event of the year, renowned journalists and editors who cover the economy, as well as leading economists and scientists from the field of economics, who formed the expert jury, evaluated the state aid for job preservation.

This year, the Croatian government will direct about 10 billion kunas to preserve jobs, which was one of the first and most concrete state measures aimed at companies and employees. One or more months of support were used by more than a hundred thousand employers for almost 600 thousand workers, and if there were no measures, tens of thousands of people would lose their jobs.

Andrej Plenković stated that they reacted quickly and decisively in this crisis. They showed how much state intervention was necessary in these circumstances, to help the private sector in the first place, and they will continue with the measures.

Building big world brands in Croatia

Mate Rimac, the founder of Rimac cars, Tomislav Car from Infinum, and Marin Pucar, the President of the Management Board of Podravka, were also nominated in the category for the businessman of the year. In the category of the economic event of the year, Croatia's entry into the European exchange rate mechanism, the growth of Infobip into the category of the unicorn, and the agreement on a new EU financial envelope were also in competition.

Although 2020 was full of challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, there were many achievements and inspirational stories.

"When it comes to this competition, we can conclude that this is a year in which there has been a big turn in the selection of the 'most successful'. These are no longer companies that started in the former state or the 90s. This is a year marked by 'some new kids', kids who started businesses with only two laptops, and today have multinational companies whose revenues are dizzying billions," said the editor-in-chief of Večernji list Dražen Klarić.

He concluded that 2020 showed that there are new, inspiring, and young entrepreneurs who are ready to invest here and build big world brands from Croatia.

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Infobip, a truly impressive company from Vodnjan, Istria, is continuing to go from strength to strength alongside the likes of Rimac Automobili - could it find itself on the New York Stock Exchange and go down in Croatian economic history?

As Poslovni Dnevnik/VL/Zoran Vitas writes on the 14th of November, 2019, the Croatian publications Poslovni Dnevnik and Vecernji List are awarding the most prestigious business awards in the country this year yet again.

The title of Economist and Economic Event of the Year will be awarded to the most successful and strongest business person and business event in Croatia, whose business or influence crucially affected the economic trends in the country, and also improved the established economic and social climate.

Although it isn't being talked about too much yet, the news that Vodnjan's incredible company Infobip could be listed on the New York Stock Exchange was one of the biggest pieces of economic news so far this year, and it's certainly news that has attracted the most attention, alongside Hyundai's massive investment in Rimac Automobili.

While it remains a pleasant piece of news, it is in actuality quite logical for Infobip to make an initial public offering that would finally push it towards gaining the title of Croatia's first ''unicorn'', a newer company worth more than 1 billion US dollars. It's been a while since all of that was first discussed, and that once very distant possibility has now steadily begun to take on a somewhat more palpable contour.

"We'll make an IPO decision in two years. This needs to be prepared for, it was only four months ago that we first employed a finance chief with a background in investment banking and corporate finance. For example, we've monitored transfer prices so far, and logistically we can pass the audit done by Ernst & Young for us, as we have 65 offices in countries around the world. However, starting this year only, we've started to use finance as a lever for the development of the company,'' Silvio Kutić, co-founder and CEO of Infobip, said in a recent interview with Poslovni Dnevnik.

For the first time since Infobip has existed, it has a Chief Financial Officer. The man in question is Mario Baburić, who has engineering experience in addition to vast experience in the world of finance. In the first interview he gave when he took up the position, back at the beginning of September, he revealed to Vecernji List that his main task was to provide a solid foundation for Infobip's IPO.

''IPOs may be the next phase, but before that, companies usually find a serious private investor who can acquire a minority stake by recapitalisation, and these funds will help us in the next two to three years to grow further.

We need some 12 to 24 months to prepare for IPOs. By carefully selecting investors with a good reputation, we will get an extra spring in our step in terms of our future plans for a stronger presence in the US and other markets. After that, we'd be ready for a campaign in about two years, that is, we could sort out a story like an IPO. The need for our services is growing, so we're also thinking about private capital to help us grow, and we are looking for a solution to that in the next few months. Internally, the finance department is now being strengthened in order to be ready for this possible IPO,'' Baburić said at the time.

Another high-profile person from the business world is engaged in preparing such ''gigs'' across the Atlantic in New York. This is Boris Nemšić, the former head of Vip, later Mobilkom, and then CEO of the consulting company Delta Partners in Dubai. He is now head of the Infobip Advisory Board.

"I'm going to focus on the bigger picture, but also on managing the company so that, if we choose to do so, we're ready for potential foreign investors," Nemšić told Bloomberg, one of the world's most influential business portals, which closely follows the activities around this remarkable company from Vodnjan, Istria.

''The fact that everything surrounding this is being taken very seriously has been confirmed by the involvement of a commercial bank in America. It is of interest to many of the world's most renowned investors in the industry. Of course, when choosing a future investor, we need to look at what's best for us, not only the price of money and valuation, which is of course important, but how to get an adequate partner who will further help us with their advice and experience,'' they say from Infobip.

''If such a partner may already have had a similar company in his portfolio and helped it to enter the New York Stock Exchange, then there are people who can help us further with that experience. Our owners know very well how the business and the company are developing, which is why we're only talking about a minority stake because we already have quality leadership. The investment bank we've engaged in this process is Citi,'' Mario Baburić told Vecernji List in early September this year.

It is quite obvious that when it comes to the Infobip IPO, it will be a unique but also a turning point for the Croatian economy as a whole. At that point, should it come, Croatia will have a confirmed global player with solid roots in the largest market - the US market - in the most competitive sector of them all.

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As Glas Istre/Lara Bagar writes on the 10th of November, 2019, the old saying goes that the grass is greener on the other side. It's always interesting to how our own grass is when compared to that of other people, at least in their opinion. Istria has become a somewhat desirable location for life and work, at least in comparison to much of the rest of Croatia, but how do foreign workers perceive it?

How does Vodnjan's ''grass" look to people from elsewhere, that is, how do they perceive it and in what way is it greener? For the answer to such a question, it was enough to head to Vodnjan, to an incubator of knowledge and a proverbial melting pot of different nationalities from here in Europe and far beyond it - Russians, Colombians, Filipinos, Brits, Serbs, Bosnians… The whole world seems to have gathered in Vodnjan.

"Think globally, act locally" could be, if it isn't already, the ''slogan'' of the largest IT giant in Infobip's home region of Istria.

The IT giant from Vodnjan, Istria, is a real miracle, especially in Croatian terms where obstacles are set up every step of the way when it comes to creating a business. Infobip isn't only a leader when it comes to IT and in an economic sense, but also in a social one.

While we all constantly have to sit and listen to the ghastly numbers of young, talented people leaving Croatia and heading to other, more prosperous EU countries, the story with Infobip is completely different. People from all over the world come to to Istria, more precisely to Vodnjan, and there are quite a few who switch their lives across millions of cities by deciding to stay, live and work in Istria.

Infobip seems to be on another planet, in another time zone, maybe even in another dimension when you compare it with a lot of the depressing statistics and figures across the country. In just a few years, a company with 2,000 employees, branches in 40 countries and 65 offices around the world has become a desirable place to work just like London, Berlin or any other major European city.

Just how do these foreign nationals who have chosen to make their lives in Istria view Vodnjan, Istria, and indeed life in Croatia in general?

Everyone came to Vodnjan primarily for business, and some brought their hearts with them too, that is, they had fallen in love with Croats. In the first case, Buje became home for Francisca Riverosa Fialla from Colombia.

"My wife and I lived in Barcelona and at one point we decided we had to be closer to one of our families. And Croatia, of course, was closer. I contacted Infobip from Barcelona, ​​applied for the job, the Kutić brothers interviewed me, I got the job and we decided to move,'' Francisco tells of his arrival in Istria five whole years ago.

What it was like to come to Buje after living in enormous cities like Bogota and London is the first question that arises.

"After living in Bogota and London, I came to Buje, a place with a thousand inhabitants. If I'd ended up here in my twenties, I'd have gone crazy," he joked. "But now, at the age of 38 and with a two-year-old child, living in a house with a garden and seven different trees is totally up my street. I'm an engineer during the week and I enjoy working around the house here in Buje during the weekends. It's wonderful, and living in such a small environment completely suits me and my wife, who runs the NTC program for children in Buje. For me, this is a life-long journey,'' states Francisco, who still has to travel 75 kilometres to reach his workplace at Infobip.

''It's twice the amount of time it took to get to my old job in the Colombian capital. That's a big advantage. But the biggest barrier seems to be the language. My family speaks ''Istrian'', and so do I.'' He is tormented by his lack of Croatian because he speaks English at work and Spanish and Italian at home, giving him little chance to practice.

"It isn't impossible to learn, but it is difficult. The language is difficult and the Croatian bureaucracy is a katastrofa (disaster),'' states Francisco in Croatian. With Croatian, when you love something or it bothers you, then you seem to learn the right word!

The Croatian mentality is also different - it's more peaceful and withdrawn. He himself says that warm southern blood distinguishes Latin Americans from Europeans.

"In Colombia, everyone is talking all the time, they're always loud and social. It's different here. People have a smaller circle of friends,'' concludes Francisco who switched Bogota and London for Buje, Istria.

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Croatian companies are becoming all the more successful in spite of the red tape the state often places in their way. Uhljebs (click here) survive like bacteria under a toilet seat within Croatia's many draconian laws which are no friend to the entrepreneur or the investor, much less the Croatian company. The beast, also known as the Croatian bureaucratic machine, is a difficult one to conquer, but while many try and fail, some succeed. The tale of the Croatian company Infobip is one such inspiring success story.

As Novac writes on the 9th of June, 2019, Silvio Kutić is the founder of the wildly successful Croatian technology giant Infobip.

What has Silvio, and thus Infobip, accomplished?

Vodnjan's Infobip was recently declared the best A2P (application-to-person) service in the world. This is the third year that this company has been ranked number one by mobile operators' ratings, but for the first time, Enterprise research was launched, where leading global companies from different industrial sectors rated A2P service providers, and this company from Croatia ranked first.

Why is this so important?

Infobip is so impressive because of its continuity and the confidence it has managed to instill in disillusioned people that have written off their country and the chance of the progression of their professional lives within it, which is a move that has been made by many, this company has proved that top projects and the creation of top-ranking, globally relevant companies can be done here in Croatia. Infobip is not the only one to have set such a shining example, but alongside Rimac Automobili, which has recently announced an expansion of their plant near Sveta Nedelja near Zagreb.

How does Infobip work?

After a series of attempts, Kutić decided to develop technology solutions for business customers, and back in 2006, along with his brother Robert and partner Izabela Jelenić, he founded Infobip, a world-class ICT company with sixty offices across six continents, and successfully competing with all of the competition from within the same field, of which there's no shortage. The company's services were used by a massive 4.7 billion people just last year alone, and their global customers include Uber, Facebook and WhatsApp. The number of employees has long since surpassed the 1,000 mark, are scattered around the world, and Infobip's revenue is measured in millions of dollars.

What will Infobip do in the future?

Infobip is continuing to reinvest what they earn. The money goes back into research and development, the improvement of cloud infrastructure, the strengthening of their centres and the overall quality of the services they provide. Infobip's main intention is to remain on top and develop more technology. The Vodnjan-based campus, which has long since called the "Croatian Google", is a clear sign that they have every intention to do it all from right here in Croatia.

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