The economic conference was organised by Croatia's ministries of foreign affairs, entrepreneurship and crafts, and the economy, the U.S. Embassy Zagreb, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce and the Croatian Employers' Association.
The topic of the two-day event is "Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital - Deepening Ties Between U.S. Firms and Entrepreneurs in the Southeast Region".
Opening the forum, Croatian Entrepreneurship and Crafts Minister Gordan Maras said the goal in Croatia was to have 40 enterprises per 1,000 inhabitants by 2020 instead of the current 22.
He underlined the importance of the attendance of investment fund representatives, saying banks in Croatia were "quite conservative and often not sympathetic to projects that perhaps should be supported first."
"Unfortunately, we don't have many funds investing in projects, which is a form of financing especially valuable in the world," Maras said, adding that equity funds would facilitate the realisation of projects.
U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Merten said American investors felt welcome in Croatia, and that the 18 months after Croatia's accession to the European Union, scheduled for July 1, would be important to attract investors and that Croatia must use it well.
Krishna Kolluri, representative of one of the biggest U.S. investment funds, said the most important resource of a country was not the national wealth but human resources and education.
Croatia and the countries in the region are at an advantage because 30 per cent of Croatia's population have a college degree, and history shows that the countries which manage to make use of that manage to achieve growth, he said.
The main message of U.S. and Croatian politicians was that upon joining the EU, Croatia had an ideal opportunity to strengthen its position in the region.