The Croatian Parliament will continue its work with a discussion on the report regarding the operations of the Croatian Agency for Small Business (HAMAG) in 2011.
This agency, tasked with promoting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, primarily through guarantees for business loans, approved 13 percent fewer loans in 2011 compared to the previous year. It has been assessed that the demand for loans from entrepreneurs has decreased due to the economic crisis.
In 2011, HAMAG approved 112 guarantees (which is 77 percent of the received applications) amounting to slightly more than 150 million kuna, enabling nearly 500 million kuna in investments in the economy. The average guarantee amount in 2011 was 1,377,359 kuna, the average individual loan was 2,549,814 kuna, while the average investment amount was 4,413,117 kuna, which is eight percent less than in 2010. With its guarantees, HAMAG participates in the total entrepreneurial loan with a certain percentage – up to a maximum of 80 percent, depending on the type of investment.
Additionally, HAMAG continued to implement projects from the Operational Plan for the Promotion of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. Through five projects, non-repayable funds exceeding 56 million kuna were allocated to entrepreneurs. The largest portion of these funds, 40 million, was allocated to strengthen the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises to adapt to increasingly demanding business conditions in the domestic and international markets.
According to the structure of applications, the most were received from the City of Zagreb, followed by Osijek-Baranja and Split-Dalmatia counties. The highest number of projects, 42, was from the agriculture program, while, for example, 12 applications were received for the guarantee program for Women Entrepreneurs. The guarantee potential of HAMAG is determined by the Croatian Government and amounts to one billion kuna.
