Novska wants to become the "Silicon Valley" of Croatia

An incubator for start-ups and companies operating in the video game industry: this was the goal of a project financed thanks to the EU cohesion policy – one that has hit the mark

In Croatia, depopulation is perhaps one of the most painful issues, especially as regards some regions that are literally emptying. A previous article by OBC Transeuropa, which explored the topic in a context prior to the global pandemic, highlighted how the regions most affected by the phenomenon were those of the hinterland, in particular Primorsko-goranska, Osjecko-baranjska, Vukovarsko- srijemska, Brodsko-posavska, and Sisacko-moslavacka. This is mainly due to the natural negative balance of the population and the emigration caused by shortages in the local labour market.

One of the objectives of the galaxy of European Cohesion Funds (see Unione europea: politiche di coesione e sud-est Europa) is precisely that of creating jobs in the area. Of the 9 billion Euros allocated to Croatia between 2014 and 2020, nearly 5 billion went to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), aimed at promoting the development of the various regions of the European Union. Part of the resources of the Croatian ERFD, namely 2.5 million Euros, was allocated to finance the PISMO project, which is based in the city of Novska, in the Sisacko-moslavacka region, and located about 100 kilometres from the capital Zagreb.

The PISMO project aims to transform the geographical area in question into an incubator for start-ups and companies operating in the video game industry, with facilities also dedicated to related areas such as virtual reality, video, music, etc. This project is clearly aimed at contributing to the training of young people who want to work in the world of technology. Those wishing to pursue a career in gaming or in sectors to come, thanks to the incubator, can benefit from specialised and advanced training as well as state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to put their ideas into practice. One of the most interesting projects to report on – and which will soon find an outlet on the final market thanks to the commercial support provided by the incubator – is the creation of glasses for the hearing impaired, which transform surrounding sounds into text projected on the lenses.

From 2017 to today, the area around Novska has seen the birth of almost 70 companies and start-ups linked to the PISMO project – three times the number expected at the time of launch. Thus, the incubator is helping create dozens of jobs, encouraging young people to stay in the region. In fact, from 2016 to 2020, the Sisacko-Moslavacka region, between natural population turnover and emigration, saw a negative balance of almost 14,000 persons, and in 2018 it registered a general unemployment rate of more than 20% (DZS ). Therefore, the project financed with the Cohesion Funds aims to reverse this trend, so much so that it has recently been strengthened with the simultaneous creation of a four-year higher education path specially designed for video game technicians, with the intent of trying to feed and create synergies with the incubator. Thus, the Sisacko-moslavacka region could soon become the new Silicon Valley of Croatia, or even the entire Balkan territory.