June 1, 2022 - Rimac Group received an investment of half a billion euros from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Goldman Sachs, which raised the value of the company to more than two billion euros. According to Mate Rimac, they will employ 700 people by the end of the year.

Rimac Group announced that EUR 500 million of investments were collected in investment round D, which exceeded the total market value of the company by 2 billion euros, reports Telegram.hr. Those 500 million euros is the largest investment so far, and a larger sum than all the investments the company has attracted. The key investors in the new round are SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, with the participation of existing Rimac Group shareholders, including Porsche and InvestIndustrial.

The company’s founder, Mate Rimac, still has the largest stake in the company, while the Rimac Group has a majority stake in Bugatti Rimac with a 55 percent stake. The other 45 percent is owned by Porsche. With the recent spin-off, Rimac Technology has become a fully independent company wholly owned by the Rimac Group. Rimac Technology is known for being a technology partner of global automotive manufacturers, which selects it to develop and manufacture high-performance battery systems, electric powertrains, electronic systems, and user interface components.

This year the company will hire 700 new people

Mate Rimac, CEO of the Rimac Group, said they were honored by the support of new investors, but also noted that they have ambitious growth plans for the next two years. “We are honored to support significant new investors such as SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, who believe in our vision. We are also grateful to Porsche and InvestIndustrial, which have played an important role in our success so far, and have now stepped up their support with new investments. In my opinion, it is a huge thing that they invested in us from SoftBank, the largest technology investor in the world, and Goldman Sachs, in general, one of the largest investors in the world", Rimac told reporters.

“As we reorganize the Rimac Group, we are establishing new production processes to meet global demand, we are hiring 700 new employees in 2022 alone, and we have hired more than 300 people so far. We are opening new offices in several locations in Europe and expanding production on Campus and other locations, the support of our professional investors will help us bring the company to the next stage of life. I would also like to personally thank all our employees because without their hard work, loyalty, and enthusiasm for the vision of the Rimac Group, we would not be here where we are today", added Rimac. Rimac revealed that today, 12 years since its founding, the company has more than 1,500 employees (there are more than 700 engineers) in eight locations.

The lack of staff in Croatia forces the employment of foreigners with experience

In a conversation with journalists on the occasion of the completion of the new investment round, Mate Rimac pointed out that the company continues to record constant growth, every year and a half to two almost double the number of employees. Currently, 150 employees work in France in the plants that Rimac shares with Bugatti, while in Warwick, Great Britain, there are already about a hundred employees. As for employment, Rimac says the focus in the last two years has been on increasing seniority.

"We grew organically before and we couldn't afford to pay foreigners or we weren't very attractive to them, and there was no experience in Croatia. So, in the beginning, we were all young, there were also students for whom this was their first job. That is why we focused on bringing in foreigners who have a lot of experience in the industry since we simply do not have such staff with such experience. Now we have people from Ferrari, Aston Martin and such companies. Almost half of the new people are foreigners. Even English people work here, although we also have an office in England. Those who are more ambitious prefer to come to us, 'close to the action', although they can work from England. Everywhere it would be difficult for us to make the team we want and in such a short time with such huge growth, without hiring internationally. Even if we are in, say, Germany", explains Rimac.

Rimac also pointed out that so far they have received almost a hundred times more investments from private investors than the money they received from the EU and Croatia. "So, it is absolutely untrue that we live on EU funds. Only one percent of our total investment comes from EU and national funds, less than seven million euros, as far as I know. We paid ten times more in taxes than we received money from the state, and four times more than we received from the EU", added Rimac.

Problems are caused by a lack of materials

Asked how much Rimac Automobile is affected by a shortage of materials, such as cables, Rimac revealed that, although they are a small company, they still have problems due to their vertical integration. “We produce thousands of parts ourselves. For example, an electronic unit or board that we work on has a few hundred small components. If we are missing only one of these components, we cannot produce a tile.

That was a huge problem for us and the reason why some things took us a lot longer. Being a small company, we managed to get away with paying ten or thirty times the purchase price from a broker, so that we could buy some, say, connectors from them. We had no other options. It is cheaper for us to pay more than for production to stop”, explains Rimac.

More than 200 million in development

Because they create products with very high added value, Rimac says that time means much more to them than the price of energy. "This year, our energy costs will be far less than one percent of the annual cost. We are investing hundreds of millions of euros in development, and this year alone the budget for that is more than 200 million euros. Of all the things that can affect our business or cause us problems, energy is in the 100th place. I'm worried about other, much bigger things. It is important to us that there is no delay. If something is late for us, or we have to go back to development because we screwed up, it will have a much bigger effect than the increase in energy prices. So, that is not a factor for us", said Rimac.

As for a possible IPO (short for initial public offering), Rimac says they want to do it at the best time for the company. "There is no specific timing when we have to or want to. I expect us to do that at a time when the company is a little more predictable, that is, when you are sure that you can fulfill something you announce within the given deadline. In my opinion, this is the right time to list the company. I don't know if it will be in the next three or five years, but it is a framework we are thinking about", Rimac said.

The capital will be used for the further development of Rimac Technology

In November 2021, the merger of the hypercar division, Rimac Automobili, with Bugatti Automobiles was carried out. Now both brands operate within the Bugatti Rimac company, the world's leading manufacturer of high-performance hypercars. The capital raised from Investment Circle D will be used primarily for the further development of Rimac Technology in the field of large series production for global automotive manufacturers.

The company says that based on the knowledge gained from the development of the Rimac Nevera electric hypercar, the company has developed a wide range of products and services for the entire process, from concept to series production of various key elements of electric and hybrid cars. So far, Rimac Technology has already entered into partnerships with many global brands, including Porsche, Hyundai, Pininfarina Cars, Koenigsegg, and Aston Martin. Mate Rimac also said that the company is currently cooperating with 12 world car manufacturers.

Tens of thousands of components will be produced on campus

Rimac Technology is in the process of increasing its production capacity, and the construction of the new Rimac Campus, the largest industrial building in Croatia, is currently being completed. When full on-campus production capacity is reached, Rimac Technology will be able to produce tens of thousands of components annually, ranging from hybrid battery systems to entire platforms for other manufacturers.

The Rimac Campus will also house the headquarters of Bugatti Rimac, which manages the Bugatti Automobiles and Rimac Automobiles hypercar brands. The campus will also produce the Nevera hypercar - the most powerful production car in the world. Work on campus, Rimac says, despite all the problems with the lack of materials, is progressing well, since the roof is already set on part of the building.

They are also planning another campus

Rimac also revealed that, although the first campus is not open either, they are intensively planning a second campus. In the meantime, they have rented several office buildings in the City Island business center near Buzin, because they have already realized that the Campus in Sveta Nedjelja will not be enough for them. Between 500 and 600 people now work at the temporary location in Zagreb's Skorpikova, former Pevec. When asked where and when another campus could be built, Rimac said they are planning a facility that is four to five times larger than the current Campus.

"For now, we are planning in Croatia. You know that we bought about 600,000 square meters of land near Kerestinec from Pliva and we are thinking of doing it there. Of course, we are also talking about a much larger number of employees. The campus is already filled with projects, everything is sold out. We already know where the production line for which manufacturer will come from. This campus is already too small for us", Rimac told Telegram.

What do investors say?

Jimi Macdonald, an investor for SoftBank Investment Advisers, said we are witnessing rapid growth in demand for electrification in an industry facing significant challenges in adapting to technological change. “Rimac has quickly established itself as a leading EV technology partner to the global automotive industry in the transition to an electric future. We are happy to be able to support Mate and his team in further success and raising Rimac to a new level”, said Macdonald.

Michael Bruun, Director of Private Equity at Goldman Sachs Asset Management for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, said the company looks forward to partnering with Mate Rimac and his managers to develop innovation and make further progress in pushing the boundaries of battery and electric drive performance. Andrea C. Bonomi, Chairman of Investindustrial's Industrial Advisory Board, said they were "extremely pleased to be able to continue to support the company in achieving its industrial expansion plan, which will make Rimac a leader in the transition to electromobility solutions. We also welcome new shareholders who will further strengthen the group."

Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Porsche AG and a member of the Management Board for Finance and IT, reminded us that already in 2018 they were convinced that Rimac has great potential. “We are happy to have been able to contribute to the progress and success of the Rimac Group. With the new investors, Rimac will further strengthen its position in electromobility and thus become an even stronger partner for Porsche. This close cooperation creates added value on both sides in terms of technological and innovation strength”, says Meschke.

For more, check out our business section.

April the 30th, 2022 - Wildly successful Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac, the founder of Rimac Automobili, is looking to employ as many as 250 new employees, some of whom will go on to work in the United Kingdom and in the German capital of Berlin.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, nobody who follows the media space in Croatia will find the name Mate Rimac strange. This incredibly talented and doggedly determined Livno-born businessman not only placed the country on the automotive map after starting out from his garage, but has since become the co-owner of Bugatti Rimac, with many other ventures having taken place in the meantime.

The entrepreneur recently announced on his Facebook profile that he was on the hunt for a significant number of employees, some of whom will remain in the country, and some will go to work abroad in other European countries, namely Germany and the United Kingdom.

At the level of the entire group, as many as 252 people are wanted by the CEO at nine different locations. Of that, 146 people are wanted to work at Rimac Technology, and 106 people are sought for various positions within the large Bugatti Rimac company.

"This year, 300 colleagues have joined us, and by the end of the year we are looking for 400 or more people," he wrote on social media.

Both Rimac and Bugatti are looking for a number of different experts, mostly engineers and software developers.

These future employees will work in Sveta Nedelja and Savska Opatovina near Zagreb, as well as in Split, Osijek, Warwick in the United Kingdom, and one job is also available in Berlin, the businessman revealed.

The amount of jobs Mate Rimac, who is a self described car lover since childhood who could never have dreamed his success would become what it since has, has created for Croatia and beyond is admirable. On top of that, he readily schooled the government on what it means to attract massive industry like the automotive industry to a small country that was otherwise entirely overlooked.

For more, check out our dedicated business section.

April the 13th, 2022 - The Rimac team have been testing out Mate Rimac's stunning Nevera in some rather extreme conditions close to the Arctic Circle up in Sweden.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Rimac team completed two intensive weeks of winter testing with the gorgeous Nevera supercar back in March at Pirelli’s Sottozero Centre near the Arctic Circle in Sweden. With unusually warm daytime temperatures, the Rimac team spent their time testing the car at night when temperatures were at their lowest and as such their most extreme, adjusting systems such as the ABS, ESP and torque vectoring, and before delivering the very first production cars.

After several years of simulations and testing on tracks, as well as in various test centres across Europe, the all-electric 1914 hp Rimac Nevera has already passed its homologation crash tests for the US and EU, serial production is underway and deliveries to customers around the world will begin in the next few months. However, to ensure that each management system works perfectly in all conditions, the Rimac team headed up to Sweden to confirm the results they had previously achieved on the road, on the tracks and in the climate chambers.

This environment was an ideal opportunity to test the Nevera on its recommended winter tyres - Pirelli P Zero Winter. This type of tyre is characterised by a special mark on the side that testifies to the joint development that Pirelli carried out in partnership with Rimac. Nevera's standard summer tires are otherwise Michelin Pilot Sport 4S.

Miroslav Zrncevic, Chief Development and Test Driver, said: ''Testing the Nevera on a low-adhesion substrate allows us to make consistent and accurate observations of how our systems operate at low temperatures. Things happen much slower on this than they do on asphalt, and we have nice, even, smooth handling paths so we know that the data we get isn't being affected by surface imperfections or temperature changes. After these two weeks of testing, we're happy to see exactly the results we wanted to achieve.''

Mate Rimac, the CEO of Rimac Group, said: “For us, this process of testing in extreme conditions was an opportunity to perfect the Nevera, ensuring that it's perfect before the first deliveries go out to the owners. Even after two weeks spent at temperatures of around -15 ° C and with a rather demanding testing regime, our prototype met the conditions by achieving 100 percent of the expected results, so we know that all our core systems can work reliably even in extreme conditions. What we also wanted to achieve is to develop a super sports car that can be driven and enjoyed by someone who isn't the most experienced driver. Finding a balance of creating an exciting, driver-adaptable yet safe ride in a 1914 hp car with four independent electric motors has been our goal since day one, and as testing nears the end, I can say with certainty that this is exactly what we achieved with the Nevera.''

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

April the 8th, 2022 - The Top Gear Magazine Electric 2022 awards has awarded Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac's stunning Nevera a prestigious award.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, just weeks after being named GQ Magazine's Hypercar of the Year, Rimac's gorgeous  Nevera won the Best High Performance Electric Car Award at the prestigious Top Gear Electric 2022 awards. These Top Gear car magazine awards, organised and judged by a team of experts from Top Gear each year, highlight the most important cars around the world in a number of different categories.

Speaking about the impressive Nevera, the assistant editor of Top Gear magazine, Tom Ford said: “The evolution of the revolution - Nevera is a summary of the technological knowledge of the Croatian manufacturer Rimac, and when it comes to electricity and advanced control systems, Rimac is the god of lightning.''

A new generation of fully electric hypercar

Rimac's Nevera represents a paradigm shift in automotive performance, technology and design. The new generation of fully electric hypercar has also unlocked new dimensions of performance that were once considered unattainable. 1914 horsepower produced by four electric motors, running it from 0-60mph in just 1.85 seconds and up to 100mph in 4.3 seconds. The Nevera was named the fastest production car in the entire world last year, crossing a quarter of a mile in a world record of 8,582 seconds.

“When we first introduced the all-electric Concept_One supercar at the Frankfurt Motor Show back in 2011, it had no competition - the idea of ​​sports and supersports electric cars was still abstract. But today, with Nevera, we find ourselves in a market full of extremely impressive all-electric sports cars from some of the world’s largest manufacturers. On behalf of the team of people who have worked tirelessly to improve the Nevera over the past few years, it's a great privilege to be singled out by the amazing group of Top Gear experts as the best high-performance electric car in the world today,'' said Mate Rimac, the CEO and founder of Rimac Automobili.

For more, make sure to check out Made in Croatia.

March the 9th, 2022 - Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac has met with Elon Musk in Manhattan, New York, and he cited the meeting on his personal Facebook profile as ''fun and intense''.

Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac, born in Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina, is more than well known across Croatia for doing what many would have considered impossible before him. The founder of Rimac Automobili and Greyp Bikes is just 34 years old and his dogged determination has resulted in success even he, who began his path in a garage, could never have dreamed of.

Since then he has made a name for himself across the rest of Europe, attracting the automotive industry to Croatia for the very first time and even teaming up with the likes of Porsche and more recently, Bugatti.

Often referred to as the ''Croatian Elon Musk'' or the ''Elon Musk of the Balkans'', it was only fitting that this remarkable innovator met with the man himself when spending time across the pond in the Big Apple. 

Comments from followers and friends on Facebook praised the pair for having come together, writing ''finally'' and that the photo of them both together was ''history making''.

For more on Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac and other entrepreneurs and companies, make sure to check out Made in Croatia.

February 17th, 2022 - Nevera passed all crash tests and is ready to be shipped to customers

Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac announced on Facebook that the all-electric hypercar Nevera passed all crash tests and is ready to hit the road.

The announcement reads:

Nevera has completed all crash tests. After 45 crash-tests and 9 complete cars destroyed in the process (and many many parts), we’ve made it – Nevera is the first US & EU certified electric hypercar!

All EU destructive, static and dynamic tests are completed – so the EU homologation is completely done. We have a few more static and sled-tests for the US which should be done during the next couple of months, but those are not critical (stuff like window anti-pinch tests).

So – EU cars are ready to be shipped to customers and US cars will be so very soon. We have customer cars on our brand-new production line (in a brand-new production facility) which we’ll show to you in the coming weeks as well.

We can’t wait for the first cars to arrive to the customers around the world! 

 Rimac also shared Carwow’s video showing one of the crash tests that had the €2 million car slamming sideways into a pole. Watch the video in the announcement or on YouTube.

January the 28th, 2022 - Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac's company, Project 3 Mobility, is planning a new project and requires quite a considerable amount of new staff for that. Project 3 Mobility is, as such, planning further employment in the near future.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, while Rimac and Porsche continue to develop their electric hypercar, as well as plans to develop the automotive giant Bugatti in the direction of electrification - his other large company, Project 3 Mobility, was founded for a controversial robotics taxi development project in Zagreb backed by the European Union (EU) this year. It could create a significant number of new jobs.

This was revealed by the Project 3 Mobility company's co-founder and director of operations Marko Pejkovic, according to a report from Poslovni Puls.

“I know that the year 2024 sounds unrealistic for launching something like this, but so did the current status when we launched Project 3 Mobility two years ago. Aside from a few short answers given by Mate, we don’t want to talk or reveal too much about the details of what we’re doing until it’s ready. Not because we have something to hide, but because very soon after the presentation, you'll be able to try out the service yourself, and not wait for two or three years. Firstly in Zagreb before the end of 2024, and then across many other cities in the world. Our team will grow from the current 80 people to 230 by the end of the year. Those people will be mostly from Croatia.''

"We're publishing the positions here and also soon on the new website. If doing things that most people might find impossible is something that motivates you, consider applying for a job. We don't offer table football or the use of a Playstation, but the opportunity to fundamentally improve a 100-year-old industry and the way in which we move and live,'' Pejkovic announced on his Linkedin profile.

For more, check out our dedicated business section.

January the 5th, 2022 - The Austrian Die Presse newspaper has praised Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac's strong will and determination, referring to him as a total outsider to the automotive world until recently.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Austrian Die Presse newspaper recently published an article entitled Croatian wunderkind must explain some things in which it writes about the "pioneer of electric motors Mata Rimac", who has ''amazed the professional world, as well as his compatriots."

The Austrian Die Presse publication writes that Rimac was initially a total outsider in the automotive industry.

“University professors told me ten years ago that it's impossible to produce a car in Croatia. And they were right - it was impossible,'' Rimac told Die Presse.

With his creative thirst for innovation, improvisation and his dogged determination and sheer strength of will, the young entrepreneur, who was born in Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1988, growing up in Frankfurt, annulled all the laws of the capital-intensive car industry, and he did so in Croatia, a country that was nobody and nothing in the automotive context,'' believes the Austrian paper.

"Everything is impossible until someone does it. I wanted to show people that electric cars can be faster than conventional ones,'' Rimac told the Austrian Die Presse.

The Austrian paper writes that the Rimac Group, with its 1,100 employees, "has long since flourished into an innovative development laboratory serving international automotive companies for high-performance electric motors, propulsion systems and batteries".

"Since the takeover of Bugatti back in July, Porsche's partner Rimac has established strength in the automotive industry," the Austrian paper noted. After moving the company to the futuristic Rimac Campus, which is planned for 2023, Die Presse writes, the company's workforce is expected to increase to 2,500 employees.

The Austrian paper also noted that Rimac has so far produced just under twenty prototypes of his electric sports car, the famous Concept One, and the Nevera is planned for a limited series production of 150 cars.

"The value of the Rimac Group, which has risen sharply thanks to the share of international corporations, is already estimated at two billion dollars," writes Die Presse.

“Rimac delights his business partners and compatriots not only with vegetarian menus in the company's canteen and with open offices adapted for dogs. A casual looking bearded man, without a tie, but wearing trainers, announced his entry into Bugatti together with the bosses of Porsche,'' writes the Austrian Die Presse, pointing out that Rimac is present on social media and that he continues to showcase his "almost childish joy in driving fast cars".

"Experts consider the positive effects of Rimac's success for this Adriatic country to be enormous," the Austrian paper said. Porsche has, as we know, entered into a joint venture with the Zagreb-based IT company Infinum and is now taking over majority ownership of e-bike maker Greyp, which was also founded by Mate Rimac, according to the paper.

"Thanks to Rimac, Croatia is no longer perceived only as a country with a beautiful coastline and good food, but also as a country with a positive investment climate and innovation,'' said marketing expert Petar Tanta, as published by Die Presse.

For more, check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

January the 3rd, 2022 - Mate Rimac is Croatia's shining star when it comes to entrepreneurship, having shown that anything is possible in Croatia, despite the many barriers to success in his field. He has even turned the eyes of the demanding automotive world to Croatia, who wouldn't have given this country as much as a second glance otherwise. Porsche is now firmly tied to the country through him.

The Livno-born businessman who is the head of the currently Sveta Nedelja-based Rimac Automobili, is now offering a very handsome 1000 euro amount to anyone who recommends a person they end up deciding to employ in another move in which he is giving back to people.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the entrepreneur is looking for new employees, and he is looking for candidates through recommendations. Anyone can recommend someone, and should they get lucky and get hired by the company, they'll have 1000 euros show up in their bank account. A nice surprise indeed for the one month of the year (January) in which everyone feels skint.

Anyone who refers to a candidate who is eventually hired by this enterprise will receive a 1000 euros cash - whether or not that person is employed by the Rimac Group or not.

“As we expand our project work for many global automotive companies, we're expanding at all levels. Anyone who nominates a candidate we hire in the end will be rewarded with 1000 euros (gross) - regardless of whether they're an employee of the Rimac Group or not,'' wrote Mate Rimac on his Facebook page.

Rimac is looking for experienced procurement and logistics experts who can take responsibility for challenging, large projects.

"Managing the requirements of such complex projects is not something for beginners, so please don't waste your and ours with recommendations for unskilled people," Rimac concluded in his Facebook post.

For more, check out our dedicated business section.

December the 18th, 2021 - Mate Rimac and Fabris Perusko have both been awarded for their massive contributions to the Croatian economy recently. Rimac is known for his role as the main man of Rimac Automobili and Fabris Perusko has headed Fortenova (formerly Agrokor) for a while now, bringing the massive company back from the brink.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Stela Lechpammer/VL writes, for the first time back in 2017, then again in pre-pandemic 2019 and once again now in 2021, Mate Rimac was named Businessman of the Year for the third time by the expert jury in the prestigious selection "Businessman and Economic Event of the Year" organised by Vecernji list and Poslovni dnevnik for the sixth year running.

Along with Rimac, but according to the readers' choice, the title was also taken by the CEO of Fortenova Group Fabris Perusko, while the economic events of the year were the growth of merchandise exports and industry according to readers and the results of the tourist season according to experts.

"The members of the jury are renowned journalists and editors from the most influential Croatian media, deans of economic faculties and representatives of professional associations. Throughout the year, they monitor who the businessmen and economic events that are changing Croatia for the better are. Therefore, they proposed five people and events for which our readers could vote, and we traditionally award four prizes, for a person and an event chosen by the jury and the audience,'' said Dražen Klaric, editor-in-chief of Vecernji list at the Esplanade Hotel in Zagreb.

Along with Mate Rimac and Fabris Perusko, Gordan Kolak, CEO of Koncar Elektroindustrija, Martina Dalic, the now President of Podravka, and Roberto Kutic, Silvio Kutic and Izabel Jelenic, the co-owners and co-founders of Infobip, were all nominated for the Businessman of the Year award. The jury finally concluded that the takeover of Bugatti by Rimac Automobili is without a doubt a historic event for Croatia and that Rimac deserves the title.

"For Rimac Automobili, this year has been really intense. In addition to the founding of Bugatti Rimac, there's also the presentation of the Nevera car, the start of construction of the new Rimac campus and the arrival of 300 new employees. We still have a lot of plans and we're looking forward to revealing them to you next year,'' said Marko Brkljacic from the company, who accepted the award on behalf of Mate Rimac.

Readers gave the most votes to Fabris Perusko, who in 2021 continued the process of transforming the largest Croatian business system, Fortenova. This was also felt in the results, and Fortenova generated 12 billion kuna in revenue in the first half of the year, 35 percent more than last year. Fabris Perusko said that the key is in a good team he works with.

"All of these stories create a very good motivation and send out the message that even in the conditions of the coronavirus pandemic in Croatia, positive economic stories can be created," said Fabris Perusko briefly.

When it comes to the economic event of the year in Croatia, readers decided that it is the growth of merchandise exports and industry which should be awarded. This year, the good results achieved even in the pandemic by Croatian industry and domestic exporters were highlighted. Every seventh company, about 20,000 of them, tried to export, and exports increased by a quarter during the year. The award for the category was taken by the Minister of Finance Zdravko Maric.

“It's a great honour for me to receive this award, but we all know very well that it was received primarily on behalf of exporters and private sector enterprises. Exporters are the lifeblood of the Croatian economy and it's certainly the most challenging segment of their business because they have to compete out there on the global market. It isn't easy to produce goods or services and sell them on such a competitive market,'' said Maric, concluding that in 2021, the Croatian Government was of great importance for the success of the economy following its quickly implemented economic measures. Other nominated events were the growth of Croatia's credit rating, the adoption of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Rimac's takeover of Bugatti and the results of the excellent 2021 summer tourist season, and the latter was chosen as the most important by experts. Minister of Tourism and Sport Nikolina Brnjac pointed out that the synergy of the Croatian Government and the private and public sectors was of paramount importance for this success.

"We'll continue in 2022 the way we did this year, and we're turning to the funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Our goal is to have year-round sustainable tourism and we'll move in that direction,'' said Brnjac. Everyone agreed that this year's tourist season was above all expectations. The eleven-month period ended with 13.5 million guests, who achieved 83.5 million overnight stays. It is expected that foreign exchange earnings from tourism in 2021 exceed the figure of eight billion euros.

For more, check out our business section.