Press Releases
United States Government, HUP Sign Assistance Agreement
For Immediate Release
March 24, 2005
Zagreb, Croatia, March 24, 2005 – William Jeffers, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director, and Emil Tedeschi, President of the Croatian Employees Association (HUP), will sign an agreement on technical assistance in support of small and medium enterprises (SME), as part of the Poduzetna Hrvatska project. The ultimate goal of the agreement is to increase Croatian sales, exports, and employment. The agreement will be signed today at 11:30 AM at HUP headquarters.
USAID, through Poduzetna Hrvatska, will provide technical assistance to HUP members intending to apply for EU accession funds. USAID and HUP will cooperate on management education projects, with Poduzetna Hrvatska organizing 10 narrowly-targeted seminars for specific industrial segments. USAID also will provide HUP with technical assistance in drafting a white paper on simplifying fiscal policy as a way to boost the economy, and in building clusters through HUP's National Cluster Center.
The goal of USAID-HUP cooperation is to increase the competitiveness of Croatia’s Small and Medium Enterprise sector (SME), boost exports, and increase employment during the process of Croatian accession to the European Union, and its adaptation to a full market economy.
Poduzetna Hrvatska is implemented by DAI/Nathan group. Its goal is to help open new jobs in the SME sector during the next three years. The project will work through a network of local partners and in four main areas: business development and strategy, marketing and branding of products for export, attracting foreign direct investment, and easing SME access to financing.
USAID is the primary assistance organization of the United States Government. Since 1992, the United States has provided over $407 million to Croatia (much of it through USAID programs) to strengthen democratic institutions, support de-mining and economic development, and provide humanitarian assistance.