- by croatiaweek
- August 24, 2025
- in
Grants prove lifeline for jobseekers in Croatia
Since the launch of Croatia’s self-employment support programme in late 2016, nearly 50,000 people have started their own businesses with the help of state and EU-funded grants, figures from the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) reveal.
Between October 2016 and the end of July this year, 49,596 people used the scheme, which offers financial assistance to the unemployed to open a business, trade, or company. In the first seven months of 2025 alone, 2,687 people took up the opportunity, nacional.hr reported.
The grants are designed to help those with skills and business ideas but lacking the start-up capital often required by banks or investors. For many, the scheme has proved a lifeline.
The initiative is largely co-financed by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and Croatia’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO).
Depending on the type of business, support ranges from up to €7,000 for flat-rate trades to as much as €15,000 for companies or traditional trades. Since 2016, more than €451.8 million has been distributed, with €24.5 million allocated in the first half of this year alone.
Two-thirds of recipients opted to open a trade, particularly flat-rate ones, due to lower costs and simpler administration compared with companies.
Construction has emerged as the leading sector for new businesses, with 752 ventures launched this year, accounting for 28% of the total. Other service activities – including repair services, hairdressing, pet care and laundries – followed closely with 624 new businesses.
A further 402 were created in professional, scientific and technical fields, such as architecture, consultancy, and translation.
The scheme has contributed to a sharp fall in unemployment. When the programme began in 2016, Croatia’s unemployment rate stood at 16.1%. By July this year, it had dropped to just 4%, a record low, though experts note multiple factors are at play, including emigration and labour market cycles.
Labour market analyst Predrag Bejaković told nacional.hr that while self-employment grants are only one part of a wider mechanism, they have proven especially effective for long-term unemployed and harder-to-employ groups.
He cautions, however, that entrepreneurship is not for everyone, pointing out that some overestimate their abilities or underestimate the demands of the market.
Bejaković also highlighted concerns about inconsistent evaluation of business plans and called for clearer, more stable criteria. Still, he believes the programme should continue, with a stronger focus on long-term unemployed and vulnerable groups.