EBRD makes equity investment in Croatian geodetic company

The EBRD is making a €4 million equity investment in Geofoto, a Croatian geodetic company offering mapping, geodetic survey, photogrammetry, geoinformatics and aerial survey services, to support its drive to expand operations on international level.

Geofoto, a locally-owned private company, is one of the leading providers of geospatial information services in south-eastern Europe, ranking among the top ten in the world. Its services are essential for urban planning, land administration, property management, issuing and obtaining construction permits and other cadastral purposes.

Among Geofoto’s clients are municipalities, ministries and property developers, predominantly from Croatia, but also from neighbouring countries, EU, Latin America and the Middle East. As part of its growth strategy, the company aims to attract even more international clients and to further expand its activity outside Croatia.

The EBRD investment will be used to support Geofoto’s further development and will finance the purchase of new equipment, including a new airplane, which will enable the company to meet the increasing demand for its aerial survey services.

“The EBRD is pleased to team up with Geofoto, supporting the company’s ambitious plans to become a more prominent player on the global market. This timely project will help the company implement new innovative geoinformatics products, allowing it to grow and meet the increasing demand for its services”, said Peter Reiniger, EBRD Managing Director for Central and South Eastern Europe.

“This is an excellent example of the wealth of innovative talent in the region, which can be transformed into a highly successful business ”, added Mr. Reiniger.

The President of the Board of Geofoto Group, Zvonko Biljecki, emphasized that partnership with EBRD will strenghten company’s position in the region and facilitate its entrance in the EU countries.

“EBRD investment will enable change of Geofoto’s business model and improvement of production processes of the company”, said Mr Biljecki.

To date the EBRD has invested over €2.2 billion in the Croatian economy through more than 100 projects in the corporate, financial, infrastructure and energy sectors. The EBRD funds have attracted additional investments worth €3 billion from other sources.