Debrecen has benefitted from significant economic development recently. One of the biggest economic development successes was the signing of a contract with BMW.
The “Economic Development 2.0” program will shift the focus. In the earlier period ( “Economic Development 1.0” ), the city administration focused on strengthening the city economy with the establishment of multinational companies, and in this respect, Debrecen is the most successful city in Hungary over the last 5 years. In the recent period, HUF 600 billion of working capital has been generated and more than 6,200 new jobs have been created.
László Papp, mayor of Debrecen, stated that the goal is for Debrecen to become the center of the economy, rather than being a labor market backbone.
In order to achieve this the “Economic Development 2.0” program will focus on developing small and medium-sized enterprises. However, the mayor believes it is very important that the city does not rely solely on EU, government and other subsidies to plan for economic growth. That is why Debrecen has designed its economic strategy in such a way that after the successful EU development cycle of 2014-2020, the city and the companies should grow independently of subsidies.
The purpose of the City Capital Fund, recently created by Debrecen and MFB Invest, is to ensure the strengthening of the SME sector, which is the backbone of Debrecen’s economy, and to integrate them into the production chain of large international companies.
“With the establishment of the City Capital Fund, Debrecen is once again a pioneer. We represent a test case and this is a real achievement in its own right said Lajos Kósa.