Slovenian Business Club Aims to Remove Stigma from Entrepreneurs

By , 18 Nov 2019, 16:00 PM Business
Slovenian Business Club Aims to Remove Stigma from Entrepreneurs zapodjetnoslovenijo.sbc.si

Share this:

STA, 18 November 2019 - The Slovenian Business Club (SBC) has launched a programme with which it wants to promote entrepreneurship in society as a value and do away with what it believes is stigmatisation of entrepreneurs in society. The initiative aims at associating representatives of various social groups and calls on the public to present their proposals.

 SBC executive director Goran Novković told the press in Ljubljana on Monday as he presented the For Entrepreneurial Slovenia programme that the club wanted to contribute to raising awareness about the role of entrepreneurship in development and social welfare.

They also want to "reduce the still present stigmatisation of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs" and strengthen entrepreneurship as a value, according to him.

Novković noted that the programme is much more than only promotion of entrepreneurship, as it was also about encouraging entrepreneurial spirit, i.e. courage, creativity, inventiveness, ambitiousness, enthusiasm and other things associated with that.

He added that, if these values were emphasised and appreciated more, the foundations for development would be established. This requires changes both in politics and the social climate and mindset in general, which is why it will be a multi-year campaign.

According to the SBC executive director, more entrepreneurship means fewer unemployed persons, better jobs, higher wages, more career opportunities, creativity, equality and higher budget revenues and pensions etc.

"The more entrepreneurship there is, the better we will live," he said, adding that Slovenians had apparently failed to adopt that simple logic.

Novković believes that there is still a huge difference in the attitude towards entrepreneurs in Slovenia and in the economically successful countries Slovenia models itself after, and that the line between tycoons or greedy business executives who destroy jobs and successful entrepreneurs who create them is still frequently being blurred.

The initiative will be interactive, with a steering committee, featuring representatives of various social groups, watching over it. It is a new, broader social dialogue supporting entrepreneurship, he said, adding that the SBC did not want to be part of the Economic and Social Council (ESS), as it was not really efficient.

On the other hand, the public will be able to contribute their proposals for measures and policies for boosting entrepreneurship on a special website. The proposals will be examined and a selection of them will be presented to political decision-makers.

Štefan Pavlinjek, the boss of the industrial group Roto and co-founder of the SBC, said that the objective should be that Slovenia became a country of entrepreneurs and employers, instead of relying on workers, especially those in companies with a low added value.

"We must know how to live off our brains, not only our hands," he said, adding that this meant that Slovenia should promote the employment of highly educated people, prevent skilled young staff from leaving the country and strive to be globally successful on the basis of innovativeness.

Also present were some members of the steering committee, including Alma Kochavy, the co-founder of the Odprta Kuhna open-air kitchen project, young adult fiction author Žiga Gombač, Janez Kodila of the meat processing company Šunkarna Kodila and innovative farmer Matic Vizjak.

They said they wanted to promote entrepreneurship with their examples and experience, especially among young people. The press conference also heard calls for a more stimulative environment for development of entrepreneurship, to help those who have ideas but lack capital.

The related website is here, while you can also follow the SBC on Facebook

Photo galleries and videos

This websie uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.