Call for proposals "Validation of Social Innovations by Startups (VALID)"
1. Plan is to establish a new micro/small enterprise in the Republic of Croatia, which would act as the applicant for the VALID call. The new company would be established before submitting the project proposal and would not be formed through a merger, acquisition, or transfer of assets, employees, contracts, revenues, users, IP, software code, or other business activity from another undertaking.
Can such a newly established company be an eligible applicant if the founder/natural person currently has or previously had other companies older than five years?
Additionally, if a similar project idea or brand/name existed before, but no actual project implementation, development costs, revenues, users, contracts, employees, IP, software code, or transfer of assets related to the project took place through previous companies, would this be considered as “taking over the activity of another undertaking” under Section 4(a) of the Guidelines for Applicants?
Applicants eligible under the VALID Call are defined in Section 4 of the Guidelines for Applicants: Eligible applicants are unlisted micro or small enterprises, up to 5 years following their registration, as defined in Annex I of Commission Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014 – SME definition, that meet all of the following criteria:
a) it has not acquired another undertaking or has not been formed through a merger, unless the turnover of the acquired undertaking accounts for less than 10% of the turnover of the eligible undertaking in the financial year preceding the acquisition or the turnover of the undertaking formed through a merger is less than 10% higher than the combined turnover that the merging undertakings had in the financial year preceding the merger.
b) it has not taken over the activity of another undertaking, unless the turnover of the overtaken activity accounts for less than 10% of the turnover of the eligible undertaking in the financial year preceding the take-over;
c) it has not yet distributed profits;
Please note that the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth is not in a position to interpret individual eligibility conditions or assess the eligibility of a specific applicant without reviewing the complete project proposal and all relevant supporting documentation. Applicants eligible under the VALID Call are defined in Section 4 of the Guidelines for Applicants. Compliance with all eligibility requirements, including those related to the applicant’s status and business activities, will be assessed during the evaluation process based on the information and evidence provided in the project proposal.
2. Are crafts/sole proprietorships eligible applicants for this call?
An applicant/partner that is association, charity organization, or trade business is not eligible applicant.
3. If a newly established Croatian company has no employees at the time of application, can it still include planned new employment in the project budget, with employees to be hired only after project approval and contract signing?
More specifically:
Are personnel costs for employees hired after project approval eligible?
How should the daily rate be calculated for planned new employment if the applicant has no payroll in the month before submitting the application?
Is it mandatory to have at least one employee before submitting the application in order to include personnel costs in the budget?
Personnel costs for newly hired staff are eligible. Personnel costs shall be calculated in accordance with the methodology for calculating personnel costs, as defined in section 11 of GfA, which applies to both existing employees and newly hired staff working on the project.
4. The Call documentation states that, where an applicant did not have any employees during the previous financial year, the daily rate is calculated based on the payroll record for the month preceding the submission of the project proposal.
We would appreciate clarification on how to proceed in a situation where the applicant:
did not have any employees during the previous financial year; and
does not have a payroll record for the month preceding the submission of the project proposal.
Specifically, we would appreciate information on the following:
May such an applicant include personnel costs in the project budget?
If yes, how should the daily rate be determined in such a case?
Is there an alternative methodology or another acceptable approach for determining personnel costs for applicants who do not have the data required to calculate the daily rate in accordance with the methodology specified in the Call documentation?
Personnel costs for newly hired staff are eligible. Personnel costs shall be calculated in accordance with the methodology for calculating personnel costs, as defined in section 11 of GfA, which applies to both existing employees and newly hired staff working on the project.
5. Is company established as a simple limited liability company (j.d.o.o.) in 2026 and classified as a micro-enterprise, an eligible applicant under the VALID Call, provided that all other eligibility requirements are met (e.g. startup status within five years of registration, enterprise size, etc.).
Applicants eligible under the VALID Call are defined in Section 4 of the Guidelines for Applicants:
Eligible applicants are unlisted micro or small enterprises, up to 5 years following their registration, as defined in Annex I of Commission Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014 – SME definition, that meet all of the following criteria:
a) it has not acquired another undertaking or has not been formed through a merger, unless the turnover of the acquired undertaking accounts for less than 10% of the turnover of the eligible undertaking in the financial year preceding the acquisition or the turnover of the undertaking formed through a merger is less than 10% higher than the combined turnover that the merging undertakings had in the financial year preceding the merger.
b) it has not taken over the activity of another undertaking, unless the turnover of the overtaken activity accounts for less than 10% of the turnover of the eligible undertaking in the financial year preceding the take-over;
c) it has not yet distributed profits;