I was reading in “Profit” that Juraj Miškov, Slovakia’s Minister of the Economy, was sending Slovak representatives on a roadshow in Germany to seek out potential investors capable of bringing more Hi-Tech to Slovakia.
In all the turbulence that engulfs Slovakia in the daily works of a four party coalition, I was quite impressed by the minister’s clear view on the steps that Slovakia should take to promote investment. Finished the time in which printing a brochure would be enough, finished the time when Slovakia’s officials thought that the country was so attractive that people would come alone here and just try out their luck.
I worked last year on SARIO’s matchmaking fair with French firms. I believe that when this project was launched, SARIO was given by some French officials outrageous promises it could not in any way guarantee. As I struggled on my side to get French investors to seek out potential partners in Slovakia, it was clear that despite the personal efforts of SARIO’s team, it was unrealistic to believe that French companies would put up with travel expenses and a complex trip (the project was taking place in Nitra!) , especially just before a three weekend holiday, and with very vague promises of interesting partnerships from the Slovak side.
So seeing the situation reversed in which it is Slovakia that is going to promote itself pleases me very much as I find that Slovakia is being more pro-active in attracting added value investments.
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