Here is how citizens are encouraged to enter entrepreneurship

The Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Crafts presented the program “StartCo – realize your own business idea” on Friday in Bjelovar, which offers initial support to entrepreneurs who have been in business for up to two years or those who are just starting their entrepreneurial journey, thus commencing its implementation.

Such entrepreneurs can receive a total of 8,000 kuna in support, with 4,000 kuna allocated for acquiring IT equipment and the same amount for creating their first website.

– Our goal is to encourage citizens to enter entrepreneurship and enable them to establish companies more easily and cheaply,” said the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Crafts Gordan Maras, noting that existing entrepreneurs are also being supported in taking initial steps and realizing their business ideas.

– IT equipment and a website are essential for every entrepreneur today, so I believe this support will be of great benefit to entrepreneurs, said Maras, adding that this support is an enhancement to all other measures and supports from the Ministry tailored for entrepreneurs.

All interested parties can apply for non-repayable support starting Friday, September 18, by submitting a completed voucher to the address of the Croatian Agency for Small Business, Innovation and Investment (Hamag-Bicro) or by filling out the online application form on the website www.startco.hr. No later than five working days from the date of receipt of the completed form, the applicant will receive a written notification of the acceptance of the application and the achievement of the status of an eligible support user. Within 60 days of achieving the status of an eligible support user, the applicant is required to submit to Hamag-Bicro confirmations of company establishment and invoices for expenses in order to receive the support.

Presenting the StartCo program, Maras also reflected on the exceptionally positive results of small and medium-sized enterprises that have contributed to economic growth.

– Small and medium-sized enterprises are recording excellent results – growth in profits, growth in exports, growth in total revenues, as well as an increase in the number of employees. This has significantly impacted the growth of the Croatian economy but is certainly also an encouragement for others to venture into entrepreneurship, said Maras, who hopes that self-employment and entering entrepreneurship will become an increasing trend.