In two months, a decision will be made on which parafiscal levies we will reduce and which we will abolish

We want to hear the needs of the real sector, transform them into calls for proposals, and enable the real sector to ‘reach’ the funds from the structural funds available to us. So far, we have not been particularly successful in this, said Horvat, who during his visit to the Koprivnica-Križevci County spoke with county leaders and participated in a gathering of entrepreneurs.

The Minister of Entrepreneurship and Crafts, Darko Horvat, stated on Friday in Koprivnica that all future calls for proposals from that ministry will be structured to assist entrepreneurship, as well as local and regional self-government, all those for whom the ministry is a service.

– We want to hear the needs of the real sector, transform them into calls for proposals, and enable the real sector to ‘reach’ the funds from the structural funds available to us. So far, we have not been particularly successful in this, said Horvat, who during his visit to the Koprivnica-Križevci County spoke with county leaders and participated in a gathering of entrepreneurs.

The minister announced the publication of new public calls, with simplified conditions and significantly fewer steps in the procedure, as well as the possibility of supplementing documentation at every step and without a marketing study.

– The goal of all this is to have ten times more projects applied by the end of the year, for entrepreneurs to apply and receive funds, rather than as was the case last year when only 50 million kuna was utilized out of the offered 1.5 billion kuna, stated Horvat.

He also emphasized that the ministry has started to resolve nearly 60 million kuna of debt it inherited, that 42 million kuna has been repaid so far, and the plan is to close this in the next two weeks. The minister also highlighted that an analysis of parafiscal levies is starting. The analysis should be completed in the next two months, after which a final decision will be made on which of them will be abolished and which will be reduced.

Horvat reiterated that the Croatian Agency for Small and Micro Enterprises and the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) should also play a greater role, as new project activities and financial products are expected from them that should benefit entrepreneurs and local self-government. He believes that HBOR should enable entrepreneurs to obtain cheaper loans with an interest rate of around three percent and that several HBOR branches are planned to be established throughout Croatia, so it will not be necessary to come exclusively to Zagreb for credit arrangements.

Representatives of the Koprivnica-Križevci County and entrepreneurs expect that cooperation with the ministry in the upcoming period will be much greater than before, as the county currently has more than 671 million kuna invested in the private sector, prepared and ready documentation for projects worth more than one billion kuna, and state investments exceeding two billion kuna.

Minister Horvat also visited two companies that are currently among the larger investors, Hangar 18 and Vemo-trade, with whose leaders he discussed their experiences and problems as well as their needs.