Croatia

The Croatian social economy is not defined under a specific framework law. Certain entities can de facto be considered part of the social economy, however it remains difficult to have a reliable statistic on the number of social economies present in the country. Some estimations, from 2017, counted 526 social enterprises, among which:

• 32 associations
• 44 cooperatives
• 26 companies (operating as a social enterprise)
• 2 institutions ("ustanova" in Croatian, which is a private institution pursuing general interest activities)

Source: Social Enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe, Country Reports, Croatia, 2019

Note: This number is, to some extent, unreliable due to insufficient information and difficulties in applying criteria. For some types of social enterprises, fields of activities are identified. 

* For this website we included this overall assessment of the level of development, it is based on the data and information about the social economy ecosystem currently available and therefore has some limitations. However, we still considered it useful to include this overall assessment.
** Source: EESC/CIRIEC (2016) Recent evolutions of the Social Economy in the European Union, please note that this estimate is on the high end as it is based on organisation type and did not apply a more narrow check for all elements in the social economy definition.

For more details on the data quality see our note on social economy data.

Tradition and origins

In spite of the long standing tradition of cooperatives in Croatia it still cannot be said that social entrepreneurship is highly developed in Croatia.

The first cooperatives in Croatia were established nearly 150 years ago. The cooperatives were powerful economic institutions as well as a movement which had an influence on political trends. The cooperatives kept the population from leaving local environments, gathered individuals with common interests and channeled them into business activities through the system. All the revenues generated remained in the hands of its members while the values remained for the local environment and community of the cooperative members. In that way the cooperatives contributed to increased employment, strengthened the position and participation of the employees, prevented poverty, enhanced rural development, ensured equitable distribution, etc., namely, promoted all the values characteristic of social entrepreneurship too. Although recognised and active much earlier, they were not acknowledged and valued in such a way as to achieve any greater results. In the Republic of Croatia there is a long and rich tradition of student cooperatives in elementary and secondary schools and special education institutions. Through these cooperatives young members acquire their first work experience and values to which work and solidarity can contribute.

Many examples of social entrepreneurship in Croatia were initiated by civil society organisations (either by founding separate legal entities, in the majority of cases cooperatives or trading companies which return their profits to the founding civil society organisation: or by organising a socio-entrepreneurial initiative within the activity of the organisation itself – as one of the activities implemented by the organisation to ensure self-sufficiency as well as by organising the education of individuals and organisations which are interested in the development of social entrepreneurship)[1].

[1] National strategy  for creating a stimulating environment for the development of civil society from 2012-2016, Government of the Republic of Croatia, Zagreb, June 2012, p.76.

Framework conditions and social economy ecosystem

Policy and legal framework 

There is no specific law on social economy in Croatia. The government however issued a Strategy for the Development of Social Entrepreneurship in the Republic of Croatia for the period 2015-2020 in 2015. It provides a definition of social entrepreneurship and policy orientations, especially on the inclusion of vulnerable groups such as Roma people.

Some laws however structure the different legal forms that are part of the social economy in Croatia :

• An act on Associations from 2014
• An act on Cooperatives from 2011
• An act on Foundations from 2018
• An act on Institutions from 1993

In 2015, Croatia adopted its first strategy. This “Strategy for the Development of Social Entrepreneurship in the Republic of Croatia for the period 2015-2020" envisaged to improve the legal framework and financial framework on social economy and to give more visibility to the sector. This strategy has not yet been fully implemented but the current Croatian ESF + programme plans to support some measures suggested by the strategy.

Policymakers in the field of the social economy 

At national level, Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy is responsible for creating a more enabling ecosystem for social economy entities.

However other ministries and National Agencies also take part in the development of the social economy as bodies involved in the management and control systems for EU funding programmes:

• Ministry of Economy – responsible for the Act on Cooperatives and the Act on the Development of SMEs
• Agency for Expertise, Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities – responsible for the functioning of WISEs
• Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation – responsible for the Act on Associations and the Act on Foundations
• Government of Croatia Office for NGOs – relevant for the implementation of the Act of Associations and the NGO sector in general

Networks, federation and representative entities 

Social economy still lacks official recognition. Therefore, the social economy ecosystem is not very developed in Croatia now. One can however note the existence of a few networks representing social entrepreneurs and other entities:

• The Croatian Network of Social Entrepreneurs (HMDP) promotes social entrepreneurship in the country and provides networking activities to social entrepreneurs,
• Act Group is a consortium of social enterprises, promoting impact driven activities. It provides support and organises workshops and theme festivals to promote new ways to make business.
• The global social entrepreneurship NESsT is also present in Croatia

How to get involved in the social economy in Croatia?

In order to raise awareness on social economy and impact driven activities at a young age, Impact Hub Zagreb has developed several learning programs to enable children and young people, from 7 to 30 to try out social entrepreneurship. 

Furthermore, the academic community of Croatia is growingly involved in promoting the social economy, by starting some research study projects in the field, but also by offering courses on the topic in universities.

Get support

A few networks and representative organisations offer support to Croatian social economy entities. They especially provide:

• Training programmes for social economy entities' employees, (Croatian Social Entrepreneurship Network)   
• Capacity building for social enterprises, for instance on impact measurement, business development, the definition of a sustainable business model (Group Act)
• Project mentoring and consultation (CEDRA)
• Coworking, incubation and acceleration programs (Impact Hub)
• Social Impact Award Croatia

Funding

The government and its national agencies have developed certain funding schemes that social economy entities can benefit from, such as:

• Loan guarantees for SMEs
• Grant schemes in support of innovation,
• Employment subsidies to support inclusion measures.

Private actors can offer more tailored funding solutions to social economy entities:

• The Cooperative for Ethical Finance was created in 2014 to provide actors with limited access to traditional banking with some accessible banking products.
• Microfinance (Erste Social Banking Group)
• Impact investing (Feels Good Capital)