Background information

Slovenian government’s Agency SPIRIT is a single point of contact for Slovenian companies and potential foreign investors alike. The agency is in charge of the regulatory, expert and development tasks serving to increase the competitiveness of Slovenian economy in the area of entrepreneurship, internationalisation, foreign investment, and technology. It prepares and provides practical information and advice, offers financial incentives to innovative companies, and develops entrepreneurial competences.

Content of measure

The Agency operates with two networks, 12 local offices - ‘Slovenian Business Points’ (Slovenske poslovne točke, SPOT) - and a network of ‘Innovative Environment Entities’ (Subjekti inovativnega okolja, SIO). Slovenian Business Points offer face-to-face consultation and advice, organise events, training and provide information for SPIRIT’s websites. The Innovative Environment Entities network encompasses 18 incubators and technological parks. It communicates through two channels: websites Business Portal and Export Window.

The ‘Business Portal’ website supports beginners, as well as experienced entrepreneurs who want to build up a healthy and stable enterprise. On the web portal, users can find information about:

1. Business opportunities, national as well as international
2. Education and training about international business, strategic plaining, sustainable business, and digitalisation
3. Financial incentives for company’s growth and development
4. Business events for discovering new sales channels

The ‘Export Window’ website provides, free of charge, information and consultancy to existing and potential exporters. Services include:

1. A web portal with basic and up to date information for beginners in international trade
2. Consultancy and assistance in organising participation at international trade fairs
3. Training in international business (including international seminars, lectures about sales techniques, presentation of legislation and the like)
4. Supply of contacts to exporters searching for business partners, and in particular industries abroad.

The targeted markets are from 52 countries.

Use of measure

The annual report for the year 2021 contains performance data:

• 176.020 searches on the Export Window and Business Portal;
• 74 business events attended by 2,379 companies; 34 seminars and training programmes for 1,257 companies; 11 co-organised business conferences attended by almost 1,400 domestic and foreign companies;
• 114 searches of foreign companies for contacts of potential Slovenian suppliers;
• 659 business opportunities and 1,081 news published on the Export Window web portal.

The study Internationalisation of European SMEs (2010) presents Export Window as an example of good practice.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	European Funds National funds

Social partners

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

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Unknown
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

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

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: Unknown

Involvement

Unknown

Views and reactions

Unknown

Sources

• 02 January 2013: Izvozno okno (Export Window (www.izvoznookno.si)
• 29 April 2015: EIM Business & Policy Research (2010), Internationalisation of European SMEs, European Commission, Brussels. (ec.europa.eu)
• 25 January 2022: SPIRIT - Public Agency for Entrepreneurship, Internationalization, Foreign Investments and Technology, Annual Report 2021 (SI (www.spiritslovenia.si)