Access to information

To foster entrepreneurship among youths, the government adopted the National Programme for Youth 2013–2022 (Nacionalni program za mladino) to help youths begin their careers. The programme highlights the need to provide youths with access to information services and high-quality information.

Young entrepreneurs receive information and financial incentives from the Slovene Enterprise Fund (SEF) through a special programme, ‘Youth’ (Mladi), which started in 2014.  The programme supports companies younger than five years that struggle to secure financing due to a lack of business history. The program aims to provide initial financial and other support for entrepreneurial ideas and young businesses with promising market potential and the ability to increase added value per employee. It focuses on companies with a high level of expertise, innovation, and potential for developing high-value products or services.

In 2024 SEF published P2 2024 – Spodbude za zagon inovativnih podjetij programme, that supports micro and small enterprises in developing new products, processes, or services with high market potential, especially those aligned with climate neutrality, the circular economy, and Smart Specialization Strategy (S5).

Young entrepreneurs can get support from various technological parks, such as Ljubljana Technology Park, the first Slovene public-private partnership (established by public bodies, national research institutes, leading ICT and pharmaceutical companies).

Female entrepreneurs

In May 2016, Slovenia launched a special ALMP programme to encourage and support the self-employment of women with higher levels of education. ‘Supporting Women Entrepreneurs’ is a joint ALPM programme supervised by Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities and Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport and implemented by the Employment Service of Slovenia and the Public Agency Spirit Slovenia. The programme offers training for unemployed women with higher professional education (level six or higher) who want to start a business, followed by start-up support (lump-sum subvention for self-employment) and follow-up training and mentorship. The target group was selected based on the labour market, in which employment opportunities have diminished for women with tertiary education, especially during the economic crisis (which led to few new employment opportunities in the public sector). In 2017, 405 women became self-employed with the support of the programme, 77 of which were younger than 30 years of age. In 2018, the programme supported self-employment of 393 women, among which were 45 younger than 30 years and in 2019, the programme supported 138 women, 9 of which were younger than 29.

Access to capital

Young entrepreneurs receive information and financial incentives from the Slovene Enterprise Fund (SEF) through a special programme, ‘Youth’ (Mladi), which started in 2014.  The programme supports companies younger than five years that struggle to secure financing due to a lack of business history. The program aims to provide initial financial support for entrepreneurial ideas and young businesses with promising market potential and the ability to increase added value per employee. It focuses on companies with a high level of expertise, innovation, and potential for developing high-value products or services.

The programme offers financial products tailored to different business development stages:
1. Product Development – Startup incentives
2. Market Entry – Seed capital
3. Rapid Global Growth – Venture capital
4. Further Growth – Microloans, guarantees, and special incentives

This phased approach ensures that young companies receive appropriate financial support at each stage, fostering faster and more intensive business development.

In 2024 SEF published P2 2024 – Spodbude za zagon inovativnih podjetij fund programme, that provides up to 72,000 eur in seed funding to help young, innovative companies kickstart their business. This initiative supports micro and small enterprises in developing new products, processes, or services with high market potential, especially those aligned with climate neutrality, the circular economy, and Smart Specialization Strategy (S5).

Designed for startups registered in Slovenia, the program helps entrepreneurs turn their ideas into reality by offering financial support in phases. With a focus on innovation, development, and market entry, the P2 Program is an excellent opportunity for ambitious young businesses to grow and succeed.

The Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities supports the following actions, which represent the connection between the school system and the economy, as well as activities performed during the beginning phase of an enterprise.

Services of university incubators. 

A university incubator is an institution linked to a university or higher education institution that supports the entrepreneurial initiatives of students, professors, and researchers. It fosters the development of innovative business ideas by providing a supportive environment, intellectual services, and collaboration with universities or other institutions.

In addition to assisting startups and tech-driven businesses, university incubators play a key role in knowledge transfer and commercialization. Together with technology transfer offices, they help bring inventions to market, often through the creation of new companies.

LUI, Ljubljana University Incubator, (Ljubljanski univerzitetni inkubator), established in 2004 by the University of Ljubljana, is a leading support center for innovative startups in Slovenia. It provides mentorship, networking opportunities, and financial guidance to help early-stage businesses grow and succeed. LUI focuses on deep tech startups, especially in fields like healthcare, artificial intelligence, advanced materials, mobility, biology, chemistry, and robotics. It also promotes technology transfer, helping researchers and students turn scientific discoveries into market-ready businesses.

The Univerzitetni podjetniški inkubator Univerze v Mariboru is the entrepreneurial hub of the University of Maribor, supporting students, researchers, and innovators in developing business ideas and launching startups. It focuses on high-tech and deep-tech spin-outs, offering mentorship, validation, and business development support. The incubator collaborates with established companies on open innovation projects, promotes intellectual property protection and commercialization, and connects startups with mentors, experts, and investors to foster growth and success.

 Through SPIRIT, the ministry carries out various activities that promote entrepreneurship:

-     General promotion of entrepreneurship as a social category and

-     Measures to support entrepreneurship among other target groups (for example, women).

Recently, leading innovators have started to connect through the initiative Start:up Slovenia in order to create and strengthen national programmes for encouraging entrepreneurship and ensure that there is a comprehensive support network for launching and building start-up companies throughout Slovenia. Start:up Slovenia is an open platform that various organisations and individuals can join by providing a statement of support indicating that they wish to contribute to making Slovenia a dynamic, entrepreneurial and talent-friendly country. Programmes implemented by the initiative provide financial support (grants, guarantees, microloans, seed capital and venture capital) to encourage ideas, projects and start-ups. There are organised start-up weekends, and a national campaign that concludes with an international start-up and entrepreneurship event, PODIM.