Osijek – The Croatian Silicon Valley

An IT explosion in the eastern Croatian city of Osijek does not look like it is going to slow down anytime soon. Last year the idea to construct Osijek Software City, Croatia’s answer to Silicon Valley in the U.S, by a group of leading local software professionals saw 7 new software companies open in the Slavonian city and this year the Croatian Silicon Valley is expected to employ over 30 new IT experts.

Statistics from the Croatian Commerce Commission for the Osijek county shows just how profitable the industry is for the region. Exports in the IT industry in the last four years had grown a massive 460 percent, with 247 workers producing 10 million euros profit in 2011 alone. Seven new companies opened up last year, bringing the total number of IT firms to 69.

“It absolutely does not matter that we are working from Osijek. Clients do not care if we are from the south of Italy, Latvia or Osijek. What is only important is the quality of work, and the price. It is true, we are more expensive that some asian countries such as India or Vietnam, but we are not as expensive as some firms like in London for example,” said Tomislav Bilic from Software City to Tportal.

The long-term plan for Osijek through the Software City project is to make Osijek a desirable destination city in which IT professionals live and work, but also for hosts companies that produce good software. One Osijek company has already found its way onto the radar of American investors. Fameron had received just over 1 million euro from American investors for its online agriculture farming management programme in the middle of 2012.