Croatian Private Entrepreneurs Can Invest in Developing Countries with the Help of EU Funds

Croatian private entrepreneurs who decide to invest in any of the European or third world countries have access to funds from European funds, as well as strong guarantees from those funds that their business will not fail, it was stated on Friday at the conference ‘Opportunities for Investments of the Croatian Private Sector in the EU and Third Countries’.

European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica, who gave an interview on this topic in the latest issue of Lider, said that Croatian entrepreneurs need to be offered concrete information about the possibilities and methods of investing with the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments in Croatia and other EU member states, as well as investments with the help of the European Fund for Sustainable Development in African countries, the European neighborhood, and indeed the whole world.

– We want to show how to best utilize these European funds. The Strategic Fund for Investments in Europe can amount to up to 500 billion euros by 2020, but the fund for external investments can activate at least 90 billion euros. The Croatian private sector can also be a user of part of these funds, said Mimica, adding that he will strive to increase the contribution of the Croatian private sector to European development and internal investment goals.

He warned that the interest of Croatian private entrepreneurs, especially for investing in third countries in development, is very small, as so far only one company from the agricultural-food sector has applied for the mentioned European Union projects. Mimica emphasizes that Croatian companies, based on their previous work in developing markets, have both experience and partners, as well as projects that could be implemented. In those countries, our private entrepreneurs could engage in projects in energy, agriculture and food industry, construction, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and wood industry, especially since, as he said, they have access to cheap money from EU funds along with strong guarantees from those same funds. The lack of guarantees has so far been too great a risk for both Croatian and European investors to dare to invest in those countries.

– These funds and this EU assistance need to overcome that investment risk. It will be overcome through a system of strong guarantees related to the political and economic risks that are part of investing in those countries, said Mimica.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Davor Ivo Stier said that Croatia has come a long way from a country that needed foreign aid to a country that is ready to help others. He stated that Croatia’s official development aid amounted to 120 million kuna in 2011, and 400 million kuna in 2014. Of that, 30 percent is directed to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which, says Stier, will continue to be the focus of development aid.

– Our firm intention is to continue supporting projects that contribute to the preservation of the constitutional position and equality of the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, reform processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina within their European path, and connecting our business sectors, said Stier.

He added that Croatia has been transferring knowledge to Ukrainians about the care of refugees and displaced persons, has been active in Colombia and Jordan where it has transferred knowledge about building demining systems, and has participated in building health protection systems for mothers and children in Afghanistan, Morocco, and areas under Palestinian administration.

The conference was organized by the Croatian Employers’ Association, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, and the Representation of the European Commission in Croatia.