Country Advisory and Economics Department of the International Finance Corporation (“IFC”), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group (“WBG”), aims to support Croatian Ministry of Economy (MINGO) in their efforts to create less burdened, incentivized and more competitive business environment, as recommended in the European Commission’s regular annual assessment. As part of the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience (NPRR), Croatian authorities have defined comprehensive reform package that will trigger the needed growth, including measures to support managerial capabilities within SMEs.

The project aims to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of Croatian businesses by promoting the adoption of modern business practices and strengthening the capacity of Business Development Service (BDS) providers.

The project will consist of three phases, each corresponding to a distinct implementation segment. Specifically, (1) Phase 1 (Business Assessment and Program Development) will lay the foundations for the program, including the design of the new guidelines and methodology in supporting SMEs, (2) Phase 2 (Capacity Building of SMEs and selected business service partners) will pilot the new guidelines and methodology with 150 firms being trained by December 2025, and (3) Phase 3 will support the government in building a marketplace of well-established and efficient BDS able to deliver consulting and training on a wide range of business practices (managerial, green and digital and ESG), scaling up the program and ensuring its sustainability beyond the project’s completion date.

Phase 2 is critical for the overall project objective and as part of it, businesses will receive the following services: (1) General and short training sessions on growth, growth strategies, ESG best practices, global trends on the market. The objective of this training is for SME to start thinking of their growth strategy, understand which areas they need to strengthen and ignite some interest for more support; (2) One-on-one meetings with a specialized BDS firm in a clinic format (30 minutes) to identify potential opportunities, and for the best and most motivated SMEs: (3) A mentoring program with a BDS provider to develop a thorough diagnostic, discuss a growth strategy, and design an action plan to achieve this growth strategy; and (4) Specific enhanced technical training sessions led by experts on selected topics to guide SMEs. Services (1) and (2) will be delivered to 150 firms by December 2025.

IFC intends to hire local consulting firm to assist the IFC in implementing the Service (3) with a specific focus on AI. 

Country Advisory and Economics Department of the International Finance Corporation (“IFC”), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group (“WBG”), aims to support Croatian Ministry of Economy (MINGO) in their efforts to create less burdened, incentivized and more competitive business environment, as recommended in the European Commission’s regular annual assessment. As part of the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience (NPRR), Croatian authorities have defined comprehensive reform package that will trigger the needed growth, including measures to support managerial capabilities within SMEs.

The project aims to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of Croatian businesses by promoting the adoption of modern business practices and strengthening the capacity of Business Development Service (BDS) providers.

The project will consist of three phases, each corresponding to a distinct implementation segment. Specifically, (1) Phase 1 (Business Assessment and Program Development) will lay the foundations for the program, including the design of the new guidelines and methodology in supporting SMEs, (2) Phase 2 (Capacity Building of SMEs and selected business service partners) will pilot the new guidelines and methodology with 150 firms being trained by December 2025, and (3) Phase 3 will support the government in building a marketplace of well-established and efficient BDS able to deliver consulting and training on a wide range of business practices (managerial, green and digital and ESG), scaling up the program and ensuring its sustainability beyond the project’s completion date.

Phase 2 is critical for the overall project objective and as part of it, businesses will receive the following services: (1) General and short training sessions on growth, growth strategies, ESG best practices, global trends on the market. The objective of this training is for SME to start thinking of their growth strategy, understand which areas they need to strengthen and ignite some interest for more support; (2) One-on-one meetings with a specialized BDS firm in a clinic format (30 minutes) to identify potential opportunities, and for the best and most motivated SMEs: (3) A mentoring program with a BDS provider to develop a thorough diagnostic, discuss a growth strategy, and design an action plan to achieve this growth strategy; and (4) Specific enhanced technical training sessions led by experts on selected topics to guide SMEs. Services (1) and (2) will be delivered to 150 firms by December 2025. 

IFC intends to hire a local consulting firm to assist the IFC in implementing the Service (3) with a specific focus on AI.