Slovenia represents an environment worth investing in and allowing new business projects and opportunities to be developed. "We have knowledge, talented people, constantly develop new ideas and products, have an excellent geographic location for international business, and are aware of the importance of investing in research and development (R&D) - meaning the country offers the features of an R&D centre, a green economy and of a logistics center," said the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Miro Cerar.

"We again see that Slovenia has incredible potential and it is important to be open and to put more trust in ourselves and in investors - foreign as well as domestic - and to learn how to work together. At this year's conference, the participants shared their knowledge and ideas. We are certain that with the rapid changes of the 4th industrial revolution, positive benefits for everyone can only be achieved through cooperation between the economy, the state and civil society," said Ajša Vodnik, Executive Director of AmCham Slovenia.

Slovenia is interesting for investors but must take advantage of it's opportunities

The Slovenia Business BridgeTM opened with the AmCham Business Breakfast - "Does Slovenia feel Investors?" which brought together the experience of leading international companies that have invested in Slovenia in recent years. All of the speakers agreed that Slovenia offers numerous opportunities and could become a regional hub because it has great export potential for the industrial sector that should be promoted and developed. Investors stated that Slovenia is perceived to be attractive due to its banks, strong business environment and stable economic growth, and they noted that it is easier to make new contacts in Slovenia due to its small market scale. 

During the AmCham Business Breakfast suggestions were made that Slovenia should privatise its state-owned enterprises, establish a fund to help SMEs, and seek strategic investors and not just financial ones. One of the problems Slovenia must work on is the loss of talented people and its educated workforce leaving the country, with a proposal that the government should invest in education and learn from foreign experts. By focusing on talented people, Slovenia would be more attractive for investors.

Co-Creation Paper Will Bring Some Useful Ideas

The second part of the conference, "Creative Collaboration: Slovenia - Opportunites and Challenges", provided the opportunity for governement representatives, business representatives and investors to sit together and co-create. For change to happen it is necessary to establish a dialogue between politics, business and the broader society and therefore the participants sought good practices that could be an example and the way for Slovenia to turn the disadvantages into advantages and become more attractive to investors. 

Slovenia lives the future today

The final part of the Slovenia Business BridgeTM was "Get Inspired with Slovenia: Ready4DFuture" which brought together ideas of Slovenian groundbreaking individuals, who live the future today, and showed that Slovenia really has the knowledge and the courage to change the world. Mitja Jermol (Jožef Stefan Institute), Jurij Krpan (Kapelica Gallery), Matej Čer (Avant car) and Zenel Batagelj (Valicon and Iconomi) presented their views of what changes bring for countries, society and business. They all agreed that Slovenia has an exceptional opportunity to use the advantages of the new wave, of the 4th industrial revolution, as the market size is perfect and proves that Slovenia can be a Green Reference Country in Digital Europe. Zenel Batagelj asked "How to put Slovenia in the centre of the world?," and then responded with: "Slovenia is already there".

The Deputy Prime Minister, Boris Koprivnikar, then closed the Slovenia Business BridgeTM with the words: "We are one of the most innovative countries in the world but we have to change the way we think and be proud of ourselves".