Vjeran Vrbanec (HAMAG-BICRO): We Strive to Create a More Stable Environment Where Entrepreneurs Are Less Exposed to Risks

A large number of received applications for NPOO loans has confirmed that the time is indeed suitable for investing in companies that follow market opportunities, but also those that diversify their business.

Just as certain life periods bring specific challenges, almost all phases in the business process go through various crises that can, but do not have to, transform into growth opportunities.

We have witnessed the desperate struggles of entrepreneurs to maintain their businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to observe the various ways they are trying to resist inflation in the context of current geopolitical events. We are aware that our task, more than ever, is to alleviate their financial concerns, encourage them to invest, and ultimately open up space for them to improve their work in a way that will enable them long-term stability. Regardless of the fact that we cannot anticipate all known and unknown dangers, we strive to create a more stable environment in which their business will be less exposed to risks, and thus to more serious threats to their survival.

Universal Quality

HAMAG-BICRO implements and evaluates many calls that directly affect the strengthening of business operations of companies, making them more competitive, both for their own activities and for potential acquisitions. I will mention calls related to digital and green transition such as ‘Grants for Digitalization’,’Strengthening Sustainability and Encouraging Green and Digital Transition of Entrepreneurs in the Tourism Sector’, and ‘Support for Companies for Transition to Energy and Resource Efficient Economy’, from which it is evident that Croatia is strongly moving towards a sustainable and green economy increasingly based on those economic branches that will help us truly be competitive.

We should not forget the vouchers for digitalization, which achieve excellent results, as well as the NPOO loans and interest rate subsidies utilized in record time in combination with ESIF individual guarantees. The large number of received applications for NPOO loans has confirmed that the time is indeed suitable for investing in companies that follow market opportunities, but also those that diversify their business.

In the upcoming period, we expect calls that will strengthen the digitalization and internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises, which will be oriented towards smart specialization, which will support women’s entrepreneurship and internships in the economy, as well as cultural and creative industries and technology transfers. Innovations involving the scientific and research community not only provide necessary services to small and medium-sized enterprises in terms of knowledge transfer for innovative processes and commercialization of innovations but also demonstrate that the application of knowledge in addressing pressing social issues primarily arises from imagination, or from the idea that problems can be approached differently.

The seemingly existing divide between natural and artificial intelligence should therefore not be viewed unilaterally, as the ability to create new and more creative options that facilitate and enhance our lives is a universal quality that transcends terminological and technical differences.

Not Just Financial Support

The support we provide to entrepreneurship, which amounts to a total of four billion euros in investments mostly in Croatian small and medium-sized enterprises, craftsmen, and farmers, will continue as it is part of our vision of an economy that is resilient, adaptable, and climate-neutral.

It should be emphasized that it is by no means only financial and does not exclusively relate to the allocation of non-repayable funds from European Union funds, but is also non-financial as it concerns the promotion of smart and clean technologies and digitalization, thus being part of a comprehensive national strategy aimed at strengthening the economy. The time for business is always simultaneously suitable and unsuitable, but it is up to us to bring water to the mills of our entrepreneurs with the resources available to us.