An Additional 40 Million Kuna for Interest Subsidies to Entrepreneurs in Karlovac County

Karlovac County was awarded an additional 40 million kuna on Wednesday for the credit program “Credit for Competitiveness”, and these funds are intended for the development of entrepreneurship through subsidizing loans via commercial banks.

The documentation regarding the allocated funds was handed over by the Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, Darko Horvat, to the Karlovac County Prefect, Damir Jelić, at a gathering in the Business Zone Logorište in Karlovac, where he also presented some of the measures and programs of the Ministry. This is a redistribution of part of the 135.85 million kuna of unutilized funds within the credit program “Credit for Success”. This program has been implemented since the autumn of 2014 until the utilization of the credit potential, or until the end of 2018, through two measures totaling 1.15 billion kuna.

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According to the Ministry’s data, for the measure “Credit for Successful Business”, 1,944 loans were approved to small and medium-sized enterprises with a total value of 290.53 million kuna.

For the measure “Credit for Competitiveness”, a total credit potential of 846 million kuna for investment loans has been determined for counties and the City of Zagreb, with funds for interest subsidies provided by the Ministry, counties, and the City of Zagreb. The counties have utilized just over 666.2 million kuna, leaving an unutilized credit potential of 181.14 million kuna. This has created conditions for the redistribution of remaining funds to six counties that expressed a desire to increase the originally established credit potential. Among them is Karlovac County, which has utilized 99.95 percent of the allocated 57 million kuna and expressed a need for additional funds.

The first part of these funds has already been “snatched up in seconds” by Karlovac entrepreneurs, and based on this, they have achieved an investment momentum, emphasized Minister Horvat.

Therefore, from the total available 181 million kuna, Karlovac County is receiving new support of 40 million, which means that the final interest rates for loan users from commercial banks should not exceed three percent, and in a large percentage, even lower, said the minister.

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He reminded that the essence of this credit program is based on the fact that for the vast majority of about 90 thousand registered craftsmen and small entrepreneurs in Croatia, primarily due to low creditworthiness and a number of other factors, funds from EU cohesion and structural funds are unavailable.

Prefect Jelić emphasized that Karlovac County has so far invested 50 million kuna in the Business Zone Logorište, where 400 workers are currently employed, and five investment projects are underway that will contribute to further employment of workers of various profiles.