Plavi ured

What Plavi ured does

Plavi ured (Blue Office) is a free municipal entrepreneurship support center located in Zagreb, Croatia, operating as an organizational unit of ZAGREBAČKI INOVACIJSKI CENTAR d.o.o. (ZICER), a development agency wholly owned by the City of Zagreb. Opened on 27 February 2015 as the first entrepreneurship center of the City of Zagreb, it serves micro-entrepreneurs, craftspeople (obrtnici), small and medium enterprise owners, startup founders, and potential entrepreneurs in Zagreb through four integrated pillars: Education and Training Programs (Edukacija), Support Programs (Programi potpore), Advisory Services (Savjeti), and the physical Entrepreneurship Center (Poduzetnički centar). It also publishes downloadable Excel-based tools such as invoice templates and lump-sum tax/contribution calculators, with the invoice template alone downloaded 43,863 times in 2024.

The underlying technology stack is intentionally minimal and non-commercial: a WordPress-based portal at plaviured.hr handling content, user registration, and workshop enrollment, supplemented by Microsoft Teams for live online webinars (registration opens 7 days before each session, with Teams links sent 30 minutes before start). Educational delivery combines in-person workshops at the Vodnikova 12/2 location and live online sessions, with no proprietary software, no API, no mobile app, and no AI/ML components. The center produces and distributes a curated catalog of free calculators, templates, and guides in Croatian tailored to local regulatory regimes (paušalni obrt tax rules, PO-SD forms via ePorezna/mPorezna).

Plavi ured operates as a publicly funded service — not a commercial business. It generates no revenue from product sales or fees; all services are provided free of charge to registered users. Funding flows through the City of Zagreb's municipal budget (referenced via the 2019–2023 programme for supporting SME development in Zagreb) and ZICER's broader innovation-promotion mandate. The go-to-market model is community-led: partner referral from the City of Zagreb, the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ), the Ministry of Economy, the Chamber of Trades and Crafts, the Chamber of Commerce, HBOR, HAMAG-BICRO, the University of Zagreb, and the Institute of Economics Zagreb drives registration, supplemented by content marketing on the plaviured.hr portal, email newsletters, and word-of-mouth. The entity employs 13 people and is led through its parent ZICER at Av. Dubrovnik 15, Zagrebački Velesajam, Pavilion 12.

Name

Plavi ured

Legal name

ZAGREBAČKI INOVACIJSKI CENTAR d.o.o.

Website

https://plaviured.hr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Plavi ured is a free municipal entrepreneurship support center in Zagreb, Croatia, operated by the City of Zagreb's development agency ZICER. It delivers free education, advisory, grant-program facilitation, and workspace access to micro-entrepreneurs, craftspeople, SMEs, and aspiring founders within Zagreb.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Entrepreneurship Support Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Community Education (EDAAAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

SME & Entrepreneurship Development (Trade-Linked) (BPADAMAE), Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)

Keywords

• Entrepreneurship support services
• Business education programs
• Grant advisory services
• Small business consulting
• SME development support

Headquarters

HQ city

Zagreb

HQ country

Croatia

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government-funded public services: Plavi ured operates as an organizational unit of ZAGREBAČKI INOVACIJSKI CENTAR d.o.o. (ZICER), a development agency owned by the City of Zagreb. The center provides all services free of charge to entrepreneurs. It is funded through municipal and potentially national government programs (e.g., within the programme for supporting SME development in the City of Zagreb 2019–2023). No revenue is generated from commercial product sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Plavi ured is a free municipal entrepreneurship support center providing four interconnected pillars of services for entrepreneurs in Zagreb: (1) Education and Training Programs covering digital marketing, sales, pricing, branding, accounting, and business planning; (2) Support Programs offering grant and subsidy information for startups, crafts, and cultural-creative industries; (3) Advisory Services providing one-on-one consulting on law, finance, HR, and innovation; and (4) the Entrepreneurship Center, a physical and virtual workspace for business development. All services are provided free of charge to registered users.

Product overview

Plavi ured is an entrepreneurship support center operated by Zagrebački inovacijski centar d.o.o. (ZICER), offering a comprehensive ecosystem of free services for entrepreneurs in Zagreb. The core offering consists of four interconnected pillars: (1) Education and Training Programs covering business skills like digital marketing, sales, pricing, branding, and accounting; (2) Support Programs providing grants and subsidies for startups, crafts, and cultural-creative industries; (3) Advisory Services offering one-on-one consulting on business planning, law, finance, and operations; and (4) the Entrepreneurship Center providing physical and virtual resources for business development. The center also distributes practical tools including Excel calculators for lump-sum tax/contribution calculations and invoice templates. Educational offerings are delivered both in-person at Vodnikova 12/2 and online via Microsoft Teams.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Excel template for invoicing (paušalni obrt) was downloaded 43,863 times in 2024

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Grad Zagreb (City of Zagreb)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlavi ured is the first entrepreneurship center of the City of Zagreb and is operated by ZICER (Zagrebački inovacijski centar), which is owned by the City of Zagreb. The center is a core component of the city's entrepreneurial support infrastructure.
• Zagrebački inovacijski centar d.o.o. (ZICER)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerZICER is the parent company and operator of Plavi ured. ZICER was formerly known as Razvojna agencija Zagreb – TPZ d.o.o. and Tehnološki park Zagreb d.o.o. It is a limited liability company promoting innovative entrepreneurship in Zagreb, headquartered at Av. Dubrovnik 15.
• Hrvatski zavod za zapošljavanje (Croatian Employment Service)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLogo partner displayed on plaviured.hr. Collaborates on self-employment support programs; provides grants for self-employment that are referenced and facilitated through Plavi ured's programs.
• Ministarstvo gospodarstva, poduzetništva i obrta (Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLogo partner displayed on plaviured.hr. National ministry supporting small business development, referenced in the context of entrepreneurship support programs and policy.
• Hrvatska obrtnička komora (Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLogo partner displayed on plaviured.hr. National chamber representing craftspeople (obrtnici), a key target segment of Plavi ured's services.
• Hrvatska gospodarska komora (Croatian Chamber of Commerce)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLogo partner displayed on plaviured.hr. Supports SME development and is referenced in the context of entrepreneurship education and business support.
• Hrvatska banka za obnovu i razvoj (HBOR)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLogo partner displayed on plaviured.hr. Croatian development and reconstruction bank providing financing solutions referenced in Plavi ured's entrepreneurship advice content.
• HAMAG-BICRO (Croatian Agency for Small Business, Innovation and Investment)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLogo partner displayed on plaviured.hr. Provides guarantees, loans, and support for small businesses and innovation, frequently referenced in Plavi ured's grant and funding guidance content.
• Sveučilište u Zagrebu (University of Zagreb)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLogo partner displayed on plaviured.hr. Croatia's largest university, cited as a supporting institution for the city's entrepreneurship ecosystem.
• Ekonomski institut Zagreb (Institute of Economics, Zagreb)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLogo partner displayed on plaviured.hr. Provides research and economic expertise supporting entrepreneurship policy and education in Zagreb.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Barcelona Activa: Barcelona's municipal economic development agency providing free entrepreneurship education, advisory, and incubation. Comparable as a city-owned entrepreneurship support center operating with a similar free-service model targeting local entrepreneurs.
• CzechInvest: Czech national investment and business development agency offering SME advisory, education, and incubator services. Comparable as a Central European government-backed entrepreneurship support organization with a similar four-pillar model.
• Enterprise Estonia (EAS): Estonian government foundation providing entrepreneurship development, business advisory, and grants for SMEs. Comparable as a small-country public-sector entrepreneurship support body with similar target audiences and program structures.
• Enterprise Ireland: Irish government agency supporting Irish SMEs and entrepreneurs with funding, advisory, and education. Comparable as a national-scale public-sector SME development body targeting micro and small businesses.

Broad incumbents

• Hrvatska obrtnička komora (Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts): National chamber representing craftspeople (obrtnici), Plavi ured's key target segment. Comparable as a publicly-supported Croatian organization serving the same crafts/micro-business audience with education and advisory services.
• HAMAG-BICRO (Croatian Agency for Small Business, Innovation and Investment): National agency providing guarantees, loans, and innovation support to Croatian SMEs — comparable as a publicly-funded Croatian SME support institution whose services overlap with Plavi ured's grant facilitation and SME development mission.
• Zagrebački inovacijski centar d.o.o. (ZICER): Plavi ured's direct parent organization — ZICER is the City of Zagreb-owned development agency that also runs innovation programs, technology parks, and broader SME/incubator services. Directly comparable as the parent entity and as a peer municipal innovation agency in Croatia.
• Hrvatska gospodarska komora (Croatian Chamber of Commerce): National chamber of commerce providing SME education, advisory, and networking services. Directly comparable to Plavi ured's business education and counseling mission at a national scale, and is itself an institutional partner.
• Hrvatski zavod za zapošljavanje (Croatian Employment Service): National employment agency that runs self-employment support programs and grants which Plavi ured facilitates. Comparable as a Croatian public institution focused on employment and entrepreneurship activation.

Emerging players

• Startup Wise Guys: European B2B accelerator and entrepreneurship education provider active across CEE. Comparable as an emerging player offering structured entrepreneurship education and incubator services to early-stage founders in the same geographic region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/plavi-ured

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Plavi ured