Kosor, who is the sponsor of the conference organised by the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts (HOK), said that the number of companies owned by women had increased over the recent years and that currently owners of one quarter of all companies in Croatia were women.
The premier said that her cabinet had been systematically encouraging the development of small and medium-sized enterprises by a series of programmes.
According to her, the economy ministry had awarded HRK 13 million in 1,655 grants to women entrepreneurs from 2004 to 2007.
HOK president Mato Topic said that women owned one third of all small businesses in Croatia.
According to statistics from late 2009, there were some 130,000 workers in Croatia's trades and crafts sector, with half of them, or 65,554, being female workers.
Broken down by business activity, most of female owners run hairdresser's and beauty parlours and textile businesses.