A new voucher initiative for Croatian businesses.
“I have founded my company six months ago. It took me that much time to start the production. This incentive initiative came at the right moment because I had just planned to open a web page and start with a stronger promotional campaign” said Mirjana Šeb-Čižmešija, owner of the Zeleni Obrok Zdravlja company from Koprivnica, which produces pasta made of nettles, reports Vecernji List on September 20, 2015.
She is one of the first 50 entrepreneurs who have received promotional packages for “StartCo – Realize Your Own Business Idea”, a new incentive programme of the Ministry of Entrepreneurship. If she fulfils the criteria, she will receive a non-refundable voucher in the amount of 8,000 kuna. One voucher worth 4,000 kuna is for the purpose of opening a new or developing an existing website, while the rest is for the purchase of equipment (computers, tablets, printers …) or software.
“There are many companies which have been started by young people in the IT sector, and this support will certainly mean a lot to them. We want to encourage others to enter the world of entrepreneurship as well. Vouchers worth 8,000 kuna are a small step, but for many they can be of help in entering the world of business”, said minister Gordan Maras at the launch of the programme.
The application period for StartCo was opened recently. The potential applicants are those who plan to start a new company within 60 days, as well as those who have started their businesses in the last two years. Interested entrepreneurs can register at the website www.startco.hr.
“I am glad that at the beginning of the promotional campaign there is such great interest. All the information packages have been distributed, and I believe this will continue in other parts of Croatia. I expect that this year there will be up to 20,000 new entrepreneurs and business owners. We want to facilitate their first business steps, so they could be more successful. Next year, we will provide even greater incentives”, said Maras.
In the first round of StartCo, the Ministry of Entrepreneurship, in cooperation with the Croatian Agency for Small Business, Innovation and Investments, has secured support for 1000 entrepreneurs worth eight million kuna in total. “StartCo is much more than a voucher in the amount of 8,000 kuna. The package will give to entrepreneurs all the information about other incentives, grants and guarantees in one place. A total value of all the incentives that the Ministry provides this year amounts to more than four billion kuna, which is 15 times more than in 2011. I would like to stress that this year we had twice as many new companies founded than four years ago, and statistics demonstrate that Croatia is growing and that it is out of recession”, concluded the minister.
