While entrepreneurs across Croatia struggle to find labor, Krapina-Zagorje County is sourcing its workforce not only from foreign workers but also from returnees from Germany who have decided to give their country a second chance. Additionally, as heard today at the panel ‘Croatia as an Investment Destination – How to Remain Competitive?’ as part of the mini-forum Lider Invest, due to mass layoffs in Slovenia, more workers are also coming from there. According to the director of Duni Foundry of Non-Ferrous Metals Dragutin Ulama, it is crucial to have quality people who are willing and know how to work on high-demand products.
– Then it is necessary to know how to process that product and sell it with added value, and it is also necessary to know how to sell that product, although it is now much easier. Thanks to our specialization, we have found ourselves in a situation where we are actually monopolists in the market, not only in Croatia but also beyond – stated Ulama at the premises of the Krapina-Zagorje County Business Center.
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The Trgovišće textile factory also emphasizes the importance of a quality workforce, and as the director of the company Mario Popić states, a large part of their workforce consists of middle-aged employees, although they also have younger ones. He adds that the emphasis is also on sustainability, which is inherent in the product.
– We are an extremely clean company, and the dust is only from cotton. We do not pollute the environment, and our largest investment recently was a solar power plant, which only supports that claim. We have no choice; if we want to be profitable, we must be efficient and sustainable – said Popić, whose company is still at a somewhat early stage of automation, employing a large number of people who perform a lot of manual work, and there will always be manual work, so retaining the workforce is by far the biggest challenge.
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However, as stated by the director of the Directorate for Managing Regional Offices at HBOR Tomislav Marković, northern Croatia is economically above average and export-oriented, and HBOR’s role is to enable entrepreneurs to have quicker and easier access to investments, which is why a regional office was opened a few years ago in the premises of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce in Varaždin. This regional office covers five counties in northern Croatia.
HBOR currently has seven offices across Croatia, and soon, as Marković exclusively announced at this mini-forum, they will open an eighth office that will cover the area of Zagreb County, Sisak-Moslavina County, and Bjelovar-Bilogora County, to better listen to the needs of entrepreneurs and their financing needs.
– We want to contribute to regional development and strongly encourage investments, which ultimately contributes to our economic development – stated Marković.
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The Krapina-Zagorje County Business Center also aims to contribute to regional development, with its director Helena Matuša noting that, although many believe that the most opportunities are offered in Zagreb, Krapina offers an equal, if not greater, range of programs and measures for the development of small entrepreneurs for startups.
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The head of the Department for Public Procurement and EU Funds Vlatka Mlakar added that Krapina-Zagorje County is utilizing EU fund opportunities to make this region advanced.
– The county also benefits from a positive migration balance, with the largest share of that balance consisting of returnees from abroad who have seen that the quality of life in our region has improved and that job opportunities have opened up with equal pay as abroad – added Mlakar.
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However, due to current geopolitical uncertainties, some entrepreneurs have paused their investments in production, including the RGNC group, whose director Anđelko Švaljek stated that they need investments solely in the area of increasing capacity and production volumes.
– The key market for us is Germany and the EU, and we do not dare to increase production capacity. Moreover, the green agenda and enthusiasm have waned, which is detrimental as they are one of the key risks of climate change and their dynamics. These things need to be anticipated in advance, and that is why we are pausing investments – stated Švaljek, who added that recycling, circular economy, and sustainability have been recognized in the company as a business model that gives them great competitiveness in the market.
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Before the panel, the current challenges in these unstable times were discussed by professor at the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb and economic expert and member of the Expert Committee of Lider Invest Marijana Ivanov.
– Fragmentation of world trade has existed for a long time, hybrid wars as well, and what has increased on the risk list are panic and fear, which limit rational thinking – said Professor Ivanov in her presentation, noting that we need to remain rational and not let fear overwhelm us.
She also emphasized that the rates of economic growth in the world are not the same and that the share of advanced economies has decreased, while among emerging markets, the share of BRICS countries has increased the most, as this is a group of countries that counterbalances the G7 countries as well as monetary institutions like the IMF. In this group, China is the strongest, and its share in global GDP has increased while the share of the EU has decreased.
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Ivanov also added that the generator of growth in advanced economies is increasingly less industry and more service and administrative sectors (especially in the USA). She also highlighted the projections for 2025 made in January, which are more optimistic than they are now, with the projection for global GDP growth at 3.3 percent, for the euro area at one percent, and for advanced economies at 1.9 percent, while projections for developing countries and emerging markets (EMDE) are at 4.2 percent.
– For the USA, projections have improved, and it is still unknown whether it will enter a recession. On the other hand, we are the ones lagging in development – said Ivanov, adding that the USA and EU have export interdependence, and now we are all under the impression of tariffs that will not reduce imports into the USA, and the greatest damage will be borne by people, i.e., end consumers.
Ivanov also reflected on Croatia, stating that while in most EU member states there is meager economic growth, our GDP is growing at high rates while at the same time we have high inflation and wage growth. Additionally, industrial turnover in Croatia in 2024 compared to 2023 has increased by 1.7 percent, with 2.4 percent in the domestic market and 1.6 percent in the foreign market, which in both cases is below the inflation rate.
– In 2024 compared to 2023, seasonally adjusted industrial production in the Republic of Croatia is lower by 2.4 percent – concluded Ivanov.
After Professor Ivanov, senior analyst of the Sector for Support and Development of Entrepreneurship, Coordination, and International Cooperation at HAMAG-BICRO Dalibor Hržica spoke about opportunities and prospects for investments, noting that through HAMAG-BICRO in Krapina-Zagorje County, over 285 million euros have been allocated through grants/loans/guarantees by March 1, 2025, while in the upcoming period they need to reach 500 million euros as this will contribute to the development of the County.
– Currently, several calls for grants are open, and I invite all who meet the conditions to apply and utilize local resources – stated Hržica while presenting the open programs.
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At the very beginning of the first Lider Invest of this year held in Krapina, more about the Lider Invest project was said by the chief editor of Lider Miodrag Šajatović.
– Usually, awards are given for everything except for those who invest in production investments. We want to reward those who invest in production – said the chief editor of Lider, stating that the current circumstances in the world will show how important production is.
– These are incredible times where circumstances change from day to day, and we all fear a recession, and each entrepreneur wonders whether to keep money from the previous so-called fat years in reserve or if now is the opportunity for new investments and new growth – said Šajatović, noting that the Lider Invest initiative has been ongoing since 2016 and that 94 awards have been distributed.
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He added that the tenth call for the best investment is currently open until May 15. The chief editor of Lider then explained the conditions of the competition and the categories of awards, noting the criterion that the investment was opened during the previous year until January 1, 2025.
In welcoming speeches, the attendees were also addressed by the prefect of Krapina-Zagorje County Željko Kolar and the mayor of Krapina Zoran Gregurović.
– From our position, we should thank all entrepreneurs who are building and expanding because they generate income for all of us in local government. Of course, we are also expected to help in development, i.e., to enable the economy to develop – said Gregurović, adding that local government is the one that will help make investments happen, as this is linked to other things such as higher employment.
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– We are creating an excellent investment climate. Here in the county, there is an excellent investment climate. No consortium that has invested with us has remained at the initial investment. The reason for this is the highly developed communal structure, the industriousness of people, quality workforce, and good transport connectivity. When you put all this in a circle, these are all reasons why the situation is so good – added Kolar, noting that they have significant exports, a strong industry, robust production, and high employment.
– Currently, at the county level, we have seven investments totaling over 250 million euros, and when we add the 200 million euros that we as an institution will work on, all this will lead to increased employment and contribute to our economic activity – noted Kolar.
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