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Slovenia's economy growth in 2017 and forecast for 2018

The Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry traditionally awards the best innovations of the year. Ten recipients of last year’s Golden Award include VR based flight simulator, new solution for biometric passports, smart universal kitchen appliance and child friendly antibiotics.

Slovenia has been traditionally present on Southeastern European markets: with the integration of the region to the EU this tradition could become an important asset.

Despite Slovenia's successes in export it has seemed until recently that global investors were uninterested in the alpine republic. Over the last few years Slovenia’s highly-skilled workforce and its capacity for innovation managed to attract a growing number of investments.

5 Slovenian companies will present their products at MAISON&OBJET. A tradeshow forecasting the future of living, building brands and growing a business.

Slovenian automotive industry remains the main driver of the country’s economy: it contributes around 10 percent of Slovenia’s gross domestic product and one fifth of its exports. While its’ competitiveness is bases on strong research, development and innovation processes, Slovenia’s automotive industry increasingly focuses on future forms of mobility.

How well does Slovenia fare in the latest global competitiveness reports, country comparisons and rankings? In a nutshell: Slovenia remains one of the most prosperous nations in the globe. It has advanced economy and its citizens enjoy an extremely high standard of living. It has one of the most innovative and creative environments, high R&D investments and highly skilled people. And it is a global leader when it comes to the preservation of the environment.

In 2016, Slovenian start-ups collected almost 100 million dollars or 90 million euros. That’s the second highest figure after record breaking 2015 when they managed to raise 127 million euros of capital. Interestingly, most of the capital didn’t go to the app makers as in previous years but rather to technological companies with their own hardware products.

The public agency SPIRIT Slovenia and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia jointly gave out awards for the best innovations last September. The awarded solutions include, among others, improved household appliances, new processes in pharmaceutical and steel industries and a highly original cold start system for diesel engines.