About GEN in Croatia

Croatia has been part of Global Entrepreneurship Week since the very first edition in 2008 — one of the founding participants in what has grown into the world's largest entrepreneurship campaign. Led by Katarina Jagić, an entrepreneur and mentor with more than three decades of business experience, GEN Croatia brings together students, startups, educators, policymakers and investors each November to celebrate entrepreneurship and connect the country's ecosystem to a global movement. Activities span multiple cities — from Zagreb and Osijek to Rijeka, Split and Nova Gradiška — and reach deep into secondary education, where student-run trading company fairs have become a signature feature of the national program. By the time Croatia marked its fifth year of participation, the campaign had already engaged 55,367 participants across 193 activities. 

GEW 2012 was a landmark year for the Croatian campaign — and not just because of the events. With 55 partners organizing 61 activities and 12,000 participants, the Croatian team also produced an inspirational film, Dream Croatia, made in collaboration with Thirty 7 Productions and Solar Productions from the United Kingdom and supported by the Croatian Small Business Union, Croatia Airlines and 65 collaborators. Filming took place across 21 locations — from Plitvice Lakes National Park to Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik — during GEW in November 2012 and into early 2013. The team also filmed in areas still affected by post-war landmines: an honest acknowledgement of the challenges facing young Croatians, and the urgency of creating opportunity so they can stay, live and work at home. In total, 77 people were interviewed from business, culture, art and sport, including President of the Republic Ivo Josipović, EU Ambassador Paul Vandoren, the Mayors of Zagreb, Split, Vukovar, Koprivnica, Hrvatska Kostajnica and Vodice, and Deputy Minister of Entrepreneurship Dražen Pros. The film premiered in Rio de Janeiro before a second premiere in Zagreb in June 2013, after which it was distributed to schools, universities and media across the country. 

Among the film's interviewees, President Josipović was one of GEW's most prominent advocates. He publicly argued that "entrepreneurship is the only thing that can help Croatia achieve positive growth and sustainable development" and in his formal message marking Global Entrepreneurship Week wrote: 

"I am delighted that Croatia has been involved in Global Entrepreneurship Week from the outset, since 2008. Entrepreneurship is the foundation of progress and we encourage it. At a time of crisis affecting not just Croatia but a major part of Europe, the way out is possible only by creating new jobs, starting new production and strengthening the economy. Entrepreneurship, innovation and boldness are the best ways how to achieve these goals." 

He called GEW "a new opportunity for fostering entrepreneurship and discussion on our strategy for our economic development" and pointed to Croatia's then-imminent EU accession — which came in July 2013 — as a further opening for entrepreneurs at home and abroad. 

GEW 2013 also saw a Croatian startup announce itself to the world. Teddy the Guardian — a smart plush bear containing medical sensors that monitor a child's vital signs and transmit data wirelessly to a parent's smartphone — won the Creative Business Cup global finals in Copenhagen, beating competitors from almost 40 countries, and was simultaneously named winner of the international Startup Open competition run by the Kauffman Foundation, having beaten hundreds of projects from more than 31 countries. 

Croatian government officials have been active participants in GEN's global policy community. Minister of Entrepreneurship and Crafts H.E. Gordan Maras represented Croatia at the inaugural Startup Nations Ministerial in 2015, where entrepreneurship ministers from around the world gathered to align on policy approaches to supporting high-growth startups. The following year, Efka Heder, Director of the South East European Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (SEECEL), was named a finalist for the Startup Nations Award for Groundbreaking Policy Thinking at the Startup Nations Summit in Cork, Ireland — recognised for her work scaling entrepreneurship education across South East Europe and fostering regional stability through cross-border collaboration. Also present at the 2016 Summit were Matija Bumbak, Head of Development at the City of Šibenik, and Antonija Mršić, Head of Sector for Innovation Policy at Croatia's Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, who returned as a delegate in 2017. Croatia's participation in the Startup Nations working group on startup visa design — through ZIP / Startup Croatia — further reflects the country's engagement with the international policy frontier. 

GEN maintains relationships with key stakeholders across Croatia's entrepreneurship ecosystem, including the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, the Croatian Small Business Union (HUMP-CROSBU), the South East European Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (SEECEL), and ZIP / Startup Croatia. 

Croatian startups have used GEN programmes to grow and compete on the global stage. Synergotron reached the Entrepreneurship World Cup 100 in 2024 — the final stage of GEN's flagship global startup competition, run in partnership with Monsha'at — pitching for a share of US$1 million at the EWC Global Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, alongside companies from 52 countries and territories. 

GEN’s ongoing mission in Croatia is to keep the country’s ecosystem connected to global capital, talent, research and policy networks – building on more than eighteen years of GEW campaigning to ensure that Zagreb and the broader Croatian ecosystem continue to grow as a recognized hub for entrepreneurship in South East Europe.