20.05.2026.
The Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) and the County of Karlovac signed a new Business Cooperation Agreement to further encourage investment in the growth of entrepreneurship and strengthen the competitiveness of the economy in the County.
The Agreement was signed by Martina Furdek Hajdin, County Prefect, and Hrvoje Čuvalo, President of the Management Board of HBOR, relating to the implementation of the loan programme for the financing of youth, female, start-up and other special segments of entrepreneurship as well as of private sector investments and working capital.
The programme has a total lending potential of EUR 3 million, and Karlovac County will subsidise the interest rate on entrepreneurial loans by up to 2 percentage points for the entire duration of the loans. Should the interest rate under HBOR’s programmes be lower than 2 percent, the County will subsidise the full amount of the contracted interest.
The cooperation between HBOR and Karlovac County has been ongoing since 2020, and Hrvoje Čuvalo, HBOR’s Management Board President, emphasised that partnership with the regional and local authorities was crucial for economic development.
"The cooperation between HBOR and Karlovac County shows how a quality partnership can create concrete conditions for the development of the local economy. In the past ten years, our programmes in Karlovac County have supported almost 400 projects totalling more than EUR 145 million, and if we include export credit insurance activities, the total support volume approaches EUR 200 million. The fact that as much as 82 percent of the approved funds relate to investment loans is particularly encouraging, which clearly shows that we are creating an encouraging framework for new investments and new jobs," Čuvalo pointed out.
By this Agreement, Karlovac County continues to actively support entrepreneurs by subsidising interest rates, which significantly reduces the cost of finance and encourages the implementation of investment projects. "By signing the new Business Cooperation Agreement, we are clearly demonstrating how the public sector can and must support entrepreneurs. Since 2020, owing to the cooperation with HBOR, our entrepreneurs have taken out loans worth EUR 2.2 million, with Karlovac County providing EUR 230 thousand of budget funds for interest rate subsidies. This money is not an expense, but a direct investment in the growth of companies, in new jobs and in the competitiveness of our economy," said County Prefect Furdek Hajdin when signing the Agreement.
She further stressed that the cooperation with HBOR reached beyond entrepreneurial loans. "HBOR has recognised the vision of balanced development of our County and is financially supporting us in the implementation of 7 capital projects in education. So, on the one hand, through favourable loans and subsidies, we enable the growth of the private sector, while on the other hand, we are building infrastructure for future generations," concluded the County Prefect.
HBOR, as the development and export bank of the Republic of Croatia, continues to actively contribute to balanced regional development and the creation of conditions for sustainable economic growth in all parts of Croatia through these models of cooperation with the counties and the local communities.
The Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) and the County of Karlovac signed a new Business Cooperation Agreement to further encourage investment in the growth of entrepreneurship and strengthen the competitiveness of the economy in the County.
The Agreement was signed by Martina Furdek Hajdin, County Prefect, and Hrvoje Čuvalo, President of the Management Board of HBOR, relating to the implementation of the loan programme for the financing of youth, female, start-up and other special segments of entrepreneurship as well as of private sector investments and working capital.
The programme has a total lending potential of EUR 3 million, and Karlovac County will subsidise the interest rate on entrepreneurial loans by up to 2 percentage points for the entire duration of the loans. Should the interest rate under HBOR’s programmes be lower than 2 percent, the County will subsidise the full amount of the contracted interest.
The cooperation between HBOR and Karlovac County has been ongoing since 2020, and Hrvoje Čuvalo, HBOR’s Management Board President, emphasised that partnership with the regional and local authorities was crucial for economic development.
"The cooperation between HBOR and Karlovac County shows how a quality partnership can create concrete conditions for the development of the local economy. In the past ten years, our programmes in Karlovac County have supported almost 400 projects totalling more than EUR 145 million, and if we include export credit insurance activities, the total support volume approaches EUR 200 million. The fact that as much as 82 percent of the approved funds relate to investment loans is particularly encouraging, which clearly shows that we are creating an encouraging framework for new investments and new jobs," Čuvalo pointed out.
By this Agreement, Karlovac County continues to actively support entrepreneurs by subsidising interest rates, which significantly reduces the cost of finance and encourages the implementation of investment projects. "By signing the new Business Cooperation Agreement, we are clearly demonstrating how the public sector can and must support entrepreneurs. Since 2020, owing to the cooperation with HBOR, our entrepreneurs have taken out loans worth EUR 2.2 million, with Karlovac County providing EUR 230 thousand of budget funds for interest rate subsidies. This money is not an expense, but a direct investment in the growth of companies, in new jobs and in the competitiveness of our economy," said County Prefect Furdek Hajdin when signing the Agreement.
She further stressed that the cooperation with HBOR reached beyond entrepreneurial loans. "HBOR has recognised the vision of balanced development of our County and is financially supporting us in the implementation of 7 capital projects in education. So, on the one hand, through favourable loans and subsidies, we enable the growth of the private sector, while on the other hand, we are building infrastructure for future generations," concluded the County Prefect.
HBOR, as the development and export bank of the Republic of Croatia, continues to actively contribute to balanced regional development and the creation of conditions for sustainable economic growth in all parts of Croatia through these models of cooperation with the counties and the local communities.