The agreement was signed by the head of the HBOR Board of Directors, Anton Kovacev, and the head of the USAID Mission to Croatia, William Jeffers.
The purpose of the agreement is to develop and improve the model of evaluation of the credit
rating of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs.
USAID experts will provide the HBOR with advice in the improvement of credit programmes and other services in order to help in the development and promotion of competitiveness of private businesses.
The agreement will result in the organisation of a conference in Bjelovar in late April, which will be attended by representatives of Croatian business zones and business centres. In the autumn this year, a big conference will be organised and foreign investors interested in small and medium-sized businesses will be invited, Kovacev said.
USAID Mission chief Jeffers said that small and medium-sized businesses were the driving force of the Croatian economy, which was the reason for launching the project "Entrepreneurial Croatia". Under the project, until 2008 USAID will provide 20 million dollars for technical assistance and consulting services in the sector of small and medium-sized businesses.