Social or social entrepreneurship in Croatia has been constantly growing in recent years, mostly thanks to civil society initiatives. Most social enterprises are still focused on the provision of social services, but there are numerous opportunities in the field of activity and good examples of social enterprises that employ large numbers of people and generate high incomes. It is also important to make a profit in a social enterprise, to do business with earnings, but that profit is returned to the community by creating new jobs or investing in social services that raise the level of quality of life. Statistics on income generated by social entrepreneurship are difficult to measure because their first goal is not to accumulate profits, but sustainable development and growth. However, according to data from 2015, from the sale of their goods and services on the market, various associations in Croatia in 2015 generated 943,551,875.00 of total revenue. The examples best describe how social entrepreneurship can be developed. A good example is the Association of the Disabled Križevci, which in 2018 opened the Hedona chocolate factory, where people with disabilities are the majority of employees, and all profits are invested in the development of their competencies and increasing the quality of life. Another good example is the Association of Baranja from Bilje, which produces spicy ground pepper "Baranjka". Pepper cultivation is entrusted to the social cooperative Ruke, which employs women victims of domestic violence, but part of the harvest is also bought from small family farms. Delicious ground pepper "Baranjka" was branded as a souvenir of the Croatian region whose traditional cuisine is unthinkable without this spice. A closer example to us is the social enterprise "Punkt", the first and only market company in Croatia that was created to generate jobs for people with disabilities, including people with intellectual disabilities who are absolutely marginalized on the labor market. They act as a snack bar (restaurant) and catering with delivery, and as a company for maintenance and assistance in arranging backyards, gardens, and agricultural areas. They also offer assistance services in seasonal agricultural work.
A social enterprise is a form of commercial enterprise in which the ownership, management, and distribution of wealth are evenly distributed, which in a broader context contributes to the creation of a fairer society. The basic values of a social enterprise are fairness in the ownership and distribution of wealth, equal opportunities for participation, solidarity with people around the world, honesty in achieving goals, open business, and the balance between market operations, social responsibility.
Due to the importance of the development of a large number of social enterprises in Istria, the Foundation for Encouraging Partnership and Civil Society Development in cooperation with the Croatian Chamber of Commerce Pula County Chamber organized a round table on "Social Entrepreneurship in Istria", which took place on November 29 large halls of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce - Pula County Chamber. The round table was attended by renowned experts in the field, representatives of academia, civil society, public administration, and the business sector: Jasna Jaklin Majetić (HGK), Teo Petričević (ACT group), Milan Medić (LAG Vallis Colapis), Peter Fabjan togetherness), Kristina Afrić Rakitovac and Violeta Šugar (professors at FET), Helga Možé (Istria Foundation), Mihaela Zubić (Tekop nova), Danijela Maružin (Punkt) and other participants, representatives of civil society organizations
The aim of this round table was to gather stakeholders important for the process of development of social entrepreneurship in Istria, in order to look at the current situation in Croatia as well as the situation at the local level, and trends in Europe. Through this round table, we received several very concrete proposals on how best to systematically support and encourage the development of social entrepreneurship.