Small and medium businesses are the key to building a competitive economy, a conference on SMEs of the future and on examples of good business practise in Great Britain was told on Wednesday.
British Ambassador to Croatia David Slinn said the British government continually encouraged innovative small and medium businesses and it was one of those countries that imposed the least obstacles to businesses.
The ambassador underscored the importance of cooperation between science and the economy in boosting competitiveness. He added that as far as SMEs were concerned in Croatia, things were heading in the right direction and there was no reason why Croatia could not become a centre for entrepreneurship.
Croatia's future lies in SMEs which hold 90% of the total economy, he said.
Enterprise minister Gordan Maras pointed out that the situation with SMEs in Croatia was similar to that of the EU.
Croatia's problem is the share of SMEs in GDP, as in the EU this is 67% and in Croatia slightly over 50%, the minister said.
He added that the ministry was currently preparing a strategy until 2020 aimed at raising added value and competitiveness of SMEs.
He announced that financing for SMEs would be improved and that the government was planning an equity fund for next year of EUR 250 million from EU funds earmarked for SMEs.
