The centre was opened by Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, who said that Croatia was a small country which could not compete with leading economies, but that it could be a society based on knowledge.
The PM said that Croatia would support the establishment of a European research council, a proposal made by British PM Tony Blair at an informal meeting of European leaders in London on Thursday.
Microsoft Croatia CEO Davor Majetic said this was the first centre of that kind in Croatia and the region.
"In the next two and a half years we expect to provide assistance to at least 100 independent software producers, employ at least 200 workers, launch 20 new independent software producers and develop 50 new software products, which will be registered and offered on the Croatian and EU markets," Majetic said.
Of the two million dollars invested in the centre, 500,000 was provided by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Apart from Microsoft Croatia, the project is supported by Cisco, Croatian Post, T-Com, and the town of Varazdin.