Background information

More than 19,000 Ukrainian refugees have found their temporary home in Croatia. People who have so far developed their independent businesses from Ukraine are showing interest in starting a business in Croatia. In order to better cope with the new entrepreneurial challenges, and for which they need clear, concrete and precise information, at the initiative of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (ERBD), Zagreb Innovation Centre (ZICER) has created entrepreneurial guides in the Ukrainian language.

Content of measure

ZICER, as an entrepreneurial support institution of the City of Zagreb, provides daily support to entrepreneurs in starting a business and solving the challenges they face on the way to business sustainability. It provides support in the form of entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurial counselling. It also regularly publishes and updates business guides that, through simply explained steps, help users achieve their goals and realize their business. In order to provide concrete support to Ukrainian refugees, business guides were created in the Ukrainian language and the Cyrillic alphabet, which are now available to the public free of charge on the plaviured.hr website.

From the concrete example of the entrepreneur, future entrepreneurs could learn about various measures and steps related to starting a business in Croatia and about the support provided to them through the ZICER. The ZICER mission is to support entrepreneurs in their beginnings and on the path to business sustainability. They are glad that now with their knowledge and available opportunities the ZICER can contribute, through the preparation and availability of entrepreneurial guides, to Ukrainian refugees who want to start a business in Croatia and thus, in these difficult and challenging circumstances, build their own existence and achieve their goals.

Use of measure

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Croatia is fully aware on the importance of this initiative because the expressed interest in starting an independent business among Ukrainian refugees is great, and exceeds initial expectations. There is also a perception that it is easier, primarily due to language barriers, to start one’s own business than to find a job with an employer. Due to the simplicity of opening and running a business, the greatest interest is in opening a business. That is why the ZICER has placed special emphasis on drafting a guide to this legal form. Until now have been prepared following guides:

1. 10 steps when setting up a business
2. How to pay a tax and surtax on income
3. How to pay social contributions for self-employment
4. How to you pay social contributions when working for an employer
5. How a craftsman pays social contributions
6. How to use Excel for creation of invoices
7. How to establish a company

The ZICER will monitor further the refugees’ needs and in accordance with their interest and demand, it will continue to work on the availability of the necessary content and support.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Migrants or refugees in employment	Solo-self-employed One person or microenterprises Start-ups	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
Company / Companies EU (Council, EC, EP)	Companies European Funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement as case not in social partner domain	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

Due to the nature of the measure social partners were not involved.

Views and reactions

Both social partners - employers and employees - fully support all measures directed to aid refuges from Ukraine.

Sources

• 14 June 2022: ZICER presented entrepreneurial guides in the Ukrainian language (ZICER predstavio poduzetničke vodiče na ukrajinskom jeziku). (www.zicer.hr)