Debrecen4U
June 11, 2025
Debrecen SME Park is a great success
The prospects of the Hungarian economy, the situation of the small and medium-sized enterprise sector, funding and business development opportunities, in addition to these, the direct and indirect effects of the tariff war were also discussed at the Portfolio’s Eastern Hungary Economic Forum in Debrecen. At the event, Mayor László Papp said that the city’s goal is to provide local small and medium-sized enterprises with opportunities similar to those of large companies.
What does the trajectory of the Hungarian economy look like in the coming period? What domestic resources and credit programs are available to companies in crisis management? – These questions, among others, were the main topics of Portfolio’s Debrecen Economic Forum. The conference focused on the large corporate and SME sectors.
“There are many programmes and tools that can be used to develop the SME sector, and we are working to bring these to different cities. We prepared with many kinds of presentations, forms of support, and a macroeconomic situation, because it is very important to us that our readers and conference visitors, entrepreneurs, and investors do well,” as CEO of Portfolio Group Zoltán Bán was heard.
“Debrecen has become one of the most significant economic centres of Eastern Hungary and the Central European region in the past ten years. The city aims to provide local small and medium-sized enterprises with opportunities similar to those of large companies,” László Papp said at the forum. The mayor reminded that the SME Park was established in the Southern Economic Zone, which offers an industrial environment to local family businesses on an area of 14 hectares.
So far, HUF 13 billion of investment has been implemented in the park, and due to multiple oversubscriptions, the second phase of public works is already being prepared.
According to the mayor, Eastern Hungary is a huge market that represents a growth opportunity for local companies.
“We announced the arrival of EUR 12,5 billion of working capital in the recent period, and this value of around HUF 5 thousand billion is a huge market opportunity for small and medium-sized enterprises operating here. The question is whether they can make use of this and whether they can truly connect to the production chains of these large companies, “ László Papp explained.
The topic of the event was how the tariff war affects Hungary. In his presentation, Deputy State Secretary responsible for the macroeconomic foundation of the budget at the Ministry of National Economy, Gergely Suppan emphasised that there has been significant uncertainty on a global level since the tariff war broke out. It can be heard that many companies have postponed their developments and investments, and many places have also introduced procurement freezes. Several economic sectors in Hungary have been exposed to the tariff war, which has both direct and indirect effects.
“Our exports to the United States account for approximately 4 percent of total exports of goods, and within this, the largest share is clearly in car manufacturing, i.e. what Audi, Mercedes and other companies export overseas, for example,” Gergely Suppan said.
The conference also discussed business development, macroeconomic and labor market factors, as well as investment strategies and digital transition.
Source and photo credit:dehir.hu
