The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has launched a project to support the economic integration of Ukrainian refugees in Croatia. 

The initiative, in partnership with two Croatia-based civil society organisations (CSOs), the SVOJA Association and the Solidarna Foundation, will target the broader participation of Ukrainians in the labour market with a focus on the private sector.

Under the project, Solidarna, an established Croatian non-governmental organisation, will work with SVOJA, formed by displaced Ukrainian women last year, to increase the provision of skills training and assistance to Ukrainian refugees looking for work.

This technical cooperation project builds on previous initiatives by EBRD retail and food-industry clients in Croatia to offer jobs to Ukrainian refugees, mainly women, who started arriving in the country a year ago following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The project is part of the EBRD’s Civil Society Capacity Enhancement Framework, an innovative grant-based programme to establish partnerships and provide support to a wide range of civil society stakeholders in the Bank’s countries of operations.

Employment for displaced Ukrainians will also benefit the Croatian economy, especially by filling vacancies in sectors such as retail and hospitality, but also by growing the local IT sector.

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Press release