Starting Saturday, applications for this year’s Entrepreneurial Impulse of the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Crafts will open.
With the new calls, Minister Gordan Maras hopes to create the cheapest sources of financing for entrepreneurs, attract as many entrepreneurs as possible to apply, and create the best possible conditions for the country’s entry into the European Union and the withdrawal of funds from European funds.
In order to bring the Entrepreneurial Impulse closer to as many interested entrepreneurs as possible, Maras and his team will begin regional presentations. The first in a series of 24 presentations will be held on February 19 in Čakovec, while the principle of applying for the calls was presented today at a special working presentation to development agencies. The goal of the informational campaign is to enhance the visibility of the calls through local campaigns in county centers.
In addition, Maras announced that soon amendments to the Small Business Act will lead to the merger of the two largest development agencies – the Croatian Agency for Small Business (HAMAG) and BICRO. Already at the beginning of next month, the announcement of calls for the IT sector, which holds a special place in the Entrepreneurial Impulse, will begin. Maras also has high hopes for the development of entrepreneurial incubators, whose budget this year has doubled from 12 to 24 million kuna.
– Entrepreneurial zones are quite well developed, and we can measure the effects of that development by the number of new companies and jobs created. This year, we will pay more attention to incubators and their infrastructural equipping. In this segment, we plan to support 20 projects in incubators aimed at creating the ground for the emergence of one hundred start-up projects – explained Maras.
