At Meeting G2.5. Building Business Bridges, which takes place November 4th and 5th at Zagreb, one of the panels on the second day of the Conference will be dedicated to the work of the Croatian entrepreneurs in Austria. The focus of the panel will primarily be on the IT sector and the grocery store products from Croatia, and at the same time models of functioning in the Austrian market will be presented as well as best practices. The panel is organized by the Association of Croatian Entrepreneurs in Austria, so we have asked the president of the Association Nika Ilic to present the organization and work of Croatian companies in Austria.

With the mutual networking of all members of the Association, in the short period of its existence, excellent collaboration is realised with the most relevant entrepreneurship factors as well as those from cultural and social life in both Austria and Croatia and BiH. From the many facets of collaboration the one with the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, should definitely be highlighted as well as Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts of the Republic of Croatia, Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts, Central State Office for Croats outside the Republic of Croatia, the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in the Republic of Austria, The Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Austria, the Association of Bosnian Croats Ring and many others Croatian associations operating in Vienna and all over Austria.
When it comes to Croatian associations in Austria, we have excellent cooperation with Burgenland Croats, (Croatian Economic Agency in Burgenland), who have already been present in Austria for 500 years that also have great potential. They are of great importance to UHP, given the centuries of presence, integration in all areas and the reputation they have in Austrian society. Their experiences are valuable, especially in realizing European projects and using EU funds

Croatian emigants companies operate very successfully, perhaps more successfully than the Austrian average. We can say that they have achieved notable business success in construction, metal, tourism, the hospitality industry and IT.
To make this business even more successful, we are constantly listening to the market and looking for new ways of linkage. For example, in September we were in Kursalon, Vienna. In cooperation with Austria Chamber of Commerce we have organized their first international economic forum called Alps Adria Business Forum. The main topic was digitalisation and innovation where we see space for future advances and many IT companies have presented themselves at the event. Thus, Austrian companies were presented business opportunities in Croatia with a particular emphasis on IT and opportunities for collaboration with the Croatian IT sector, and successful IT companies have shown the possibility of them influencing the Austrian market.
In addition, various Austrian, Croatian and Bosnian companies form other sectors that need IT services were present. Next year we will choose another sector to reach as many businesses as possible and give them a platform to grow their business.

Throughout history, economic cooperation between Croatia and Austria has existed and represented a strong link between the two countries. This is supported by the fact that Austria is one of the most powerful investors in the Republic of Croatia. For example, in 2017, Austria represented the largest amount of direct investments in the Republic of Croatia. The above information is very valuable because it speaks of the recognized potential of foreign investors in the Croatian economy.
Economic exchanges between the two countries take place in almost all industrial branches. It is interesting to note that in 2018, Croatia made almost 7 billion kuna in Austria and Austria is the 4th most powerful Croatian exporter of all EU countries. At the same time, in 2018 Austria is the 4th most powerful importer in Croatia of all European Union countries. Imports from Austria to Croatia remain double that of Croatia. However, this is exactly where we see space for Croatian entrepreneurs. Austria is an economically strong market and the opportunities offered to Croatia Austrian market are large. For this reason, the Association of Croatian Entrepreneurs in Austria seeks to connect the aforementioned economies and facilitate business operations for the Croatian economy entrepreneurs in Austria.