Croatia - Business Development and Innovation

Split, Croatia (Mana5280, Unsplash) — Split, Croatia(Mana5280, Unsplash)

The list of all the successful applicants from the 1^st Call has been finalized. Information about the approved projects can be found under 'Results of the First Call for Proposals' below.

The 2^nd Call will be launched in the upcoming month. For more info, please read the pre-announcement.

Important Information

Co-financing possibilities from HBOR: Applicants can co-finance projects with HBOR's lending programme.

Regional information sessions are planned for November: To follow up the launching of the 2^nd Call, info workshops will be organized throughout Croatia. Please apply via below links:

*Date*	*Time*	*Venue*
03.11.2021	13.00	Slavonski Brod
04.11.2021	9.00	Osijek
08.11.2021	13.00	Zadar
09.11.2021	9.00	Split
11.11.2021	12.00	Zagreb
16.11.2021	12:00	Opatija
17.11.2021	10:00	Rovinj
23.11.2021	10.00	Varaždin
25.11.2021	10.00	Koprivnica

The ‘’Business development and Innovation’’ Programme will allocate more than 20 million euros to Croatian companies. Focus areas of investments and development will be Green Industry Innovation (manufacturing industry) and Blue Growth (marine, maritime, small scale tourism, and more). This will also be a first-time opportunity for Croatian companies to form strong relationships with Norwegian companies, universities and R&D centers for sharing knowledge and best practice.

About the Programme:

Business Development and Innovation Croatia is a business development Programme that aims to increase value creation and sustainable growth in the Croatian private sector.

The Programme is financed by Norway Grants and is a part of the EEA and Norway Grants 2014-2021. Read more about the EEA and Norway Grants.

For updated information about the Programme, we encourage you to check this website regularly.

Further inquiries can be made via the Programme e-mail address: cro.innovation@innovationnorway.no

Areas of Support:

Innovative technologies, processes and services
Sustainable business development
Greening of existing businesses and processes
Development and implementation of innovative products and services

Programme Area Specifics:

The Business Development and Innovation Programme will seek to stimulate and develop long-term business cooperation between Norway on one hand, and Croatia on the other, based on business development and innovation.

The aim is to allocate 75 percent of the funding to small and medium size enterprises. Priority will be given to bilateral partnership projects offering added value.

Programme will consist of the two following focus areas.

Green industry innovation
Blue growth

The first Call for Proposals was closed on 17 November 2020.

55 applications were received by the closing date of the Call. The total budget for these applications is Euro 46,575,790 and the total grant amount applied for is Euro 24,939,981.

The total amount available for financing of projects in this Call was EUR 19,064,148.

35 applications for the focus area Green Industry Innovation and 19 for the focus area Blue Growth. In addition, we have one Pre-defined project for capacity building with the Croatia Chamber of Economy (CCE).

19 of the project applications have a partner from the Donor State Norway.

20 applicants applied for Euro 200,000 or less (Small Grants Scheme).

Within the coming weeks, all applicants will receive written information about the eligibility of their applications and the further.

Important note: The Fund Operator will not return the submitted project applications to the companies and the personal information will be processed in line with the respective EU GDPR regulations and internal rules of Innovation Norway.

To facilitate establishment of bilateral partnerships between enterprises in Croatia and partners in Norway, a Travel Support Scheme will be available. The intent is to prepare joint project applications for the upcoming call(s) under the Programme. Please read our Guidelines for Travel Support

Step 1 - Apply

You will find the link for the form at the bottom of this page and the documents below. Please note that Innovation Norway written approval is required prior to your travel.

Applications for Travel Support will be assessed and awarded by Innovation Norway on a continuous basis (until the depletion of the available budget).

Step 2 - Disbursement of Funds and Reporting

The funds will be offered based on reimbursement principle. The expenditures will be covered by the applicant from his own funds and a reimbursement request will be submitted to Innovation Norway after the travel.

Click here for the reimbursment request form

Click here for the de minimis aid declaration form

An applicant who is affected by a decision by innovation Norway on the formal and administrative eligibility of their application may file an appeal against the decision within 30 days after the decision has been communicated. Appeals must be filed via email to cro.innovation@innovationnorway.no.

Final decisions on whether to finance a project or not are not subject to this appeal procedure. In accordance with the Law on Innovation Norway, such decisions cannot be appealed.

Appeals are dealt with by the responsible Programme Director and/or the Innovation Norway Programme Director for the EEA and Norway Grants. A decision on the appeal will be issued within two weeks from the date the appeal was received.

Report your concerns about a possible breech with Innovation Norway's Ethical Guidelines, Anti-Corruption policy or Good Business Practice.

Croatia - Business Development and Innovation

Important Information

Travel support form

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