Croatian high school entrepreneurs take care of the environment and promote cultural heritage

This year, the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP) celebrates 25 years of work. On this occasion, in order to promote entrepreneurship, the HUP, in cooperation with ASOO (Agency for Vocational Education and Training of adults) has launched a prize competition for high school students in the Republic of Croatia to promote entrepreneurship among young people. The competition was open from March 15 to May 15 2018 and sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia.

We know that the students are the most motivated by the challenges, so we have decided to apply for this competition with our best students.

The school applied for a competition with two entrepreneurial projects, each with their team of students and the same mentors, Marija Istenić and Ivana Prezzi. Our goal was not only to create the entrepreneurial plans for businesses that students might need tomorrow, upon finishing high school. However, to choose projects that take care of the environment and promote the cultural heritage of our beautiful country.

One group of students created an entrepreneurial project of Greenpack recycled cardboard packaging as a substitute for plastic packaging. This was inspired by the idea of the European Commission to ban plastic products such as food packaging and disposable beverages.

Greenpack products are biodegradable, non-toxic and environmentally friendly. They are therefore ideal for packing food when trying to avoid plastic packaging.

Students in this project went through the standard business plan: Executive Summary, General Company Description, The Opportunity, Industry & Market Description, Strategy, Business Model Explanation, Team: Management & Organisation, Marketing Plan and Operational Plan.

The students brought enthusiasm to the different areas of the project. The knowledge they gained about the waste sorting and recycling process of not only paper but other materials such as plastic and glass, and even fabric, will serve them for the entire business life. They also met the manufacturing process itself. We consider that the project intrigued them as one of our students said, '... could this waste really be turned into gold ...'

The second team was working on a production of traditional dish: Soparnik. The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia has recognised the tradition and importance of the Soparnik, and has included it on the list of protected cultural goods as one of the dishes of the Croatian cultural heritage. To illustrate the profits of the production of Soparnik we elaborated an entrepreneurial idea. Unfortunately, we did not win the prize, but we had a good time building the project that our students will surely use in a future as a business start-up.

Ivana Prezzi and Marija Istenić