A Business Entrepreneur from Innovative Companies Should Be Appointed as Minister of Economy

In the last program segment of the first day of the economists’ meeting in Opatija, Marko Derča from A.T. Kearney provided an overview of some basic facts about the digital economy as an introduction to the discussion on this topic, which also included Anton Kovačev, Dragan Čišić (Faculty of Maritime Studies in Rijeka), Kamilo Vrana (EnergoVizija), and Spomenka Tomek-Roksandić (CZG NZJZ ‘Dr. Andrija Štampar’).

Derča warned that even monopolists will quickly find themselves in trouble if they do not incorporate the digital economy into their business, as it is the main driver of change today and includes innovation as an integral part. For illustration, by 2020, 50 billion devices will be connected to the internet, and consumers will spend 35 percent of their shopping time purchasing online. Consumers are at the very core of the digital economy; they are its drivers and are more informed than ever, which makes them more demanding and fickle. In addition, there are five other fundamental trends in the digital economy – investments in big data (the collection and analysis of large amounts of data to identify patterns and anticipate) must accelerate to keep pace, mobility is becoming crucial, social media is indispensable, demand is volatile, and the user experience is integrated and seamless.

The head of the European Investment Bank office in Zagreb, Kovačev, commented on the poor attendance at the panel on the digital economy in the afternoon session, characterizing it as yet another proof of Croatia’s orientation towards the past. The EIB financed projects in the field of the digital economy worth 3.2 billion euros last year (mainly the introduction of broadband internet, cloud computing, and improvement of mobile networks), and 400 million euros were also spent on three smart city projects in Belgium. As a significant problem in the development of the digital economy, Derča sees the fragmentation of financial incentives for innovation in many countries, as well as insufficient conditioning of project financing on its commercial viability.

When it comes to innovations in Croatia, Kovačev compared the successes of certain innovative Croatian companies to the achievements of athletes like Blanka Vlašić, Goran Ivanišević, or Janica Kostelić. They are not, he said, a product of the system but of their own perseverance and often financial resources. Therefore, it would be best to appoint one of these entrepreneurs as Minister of Economy, as they would surely know how to encourage the creation of more such companies, Kovačev suggested. Before engaging the state, Derča added, startup companies should connect with larger ones.

A sort of conclusion to the panel was given by Ljubo Jurčić, reminding the few present and panelists that it is impossible to predict what a certain technology will lead to, and that every technology has its limits, including this one. However, digital technology has enabled one important thing, Jurčić said, which is perfect consumer awareness, an element that was missing in the pursuit of a perfect economy.