BiH first in Europe by number of new businesses, last in conditions for entrepreneurship

Mostar (Fena) – Bosnia and Herzegovina is the first country in Europe in terms of the number of new businesses relative to the population, but ranks last in the conditions under which entrepreneurship takes place, it was highlighted at the expert-consultative conference on the topic “How to Support the Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises” held in Mostar.

The leader of the GEM (Global Economic Monitor) team in BiH Vjekoslav Domljan stated on this occasion that, unfortunately, even after 30 years, the same issues must be discussed because there has been no progress.

– Every year in February, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor publishes its results, and according to them, we can say that in the number of new businesses (ages 18-64), in the total number of people, BiH is first, not only among countries of similar size but first in Europe. We have the most entrepreneurial population. On the other hand, when looking at the assessment of conditions regarding entrepreneurship, we are last in the world out of 56 countries – said Professor Domljan.

BiH has an index of 3.4 and is in last place, while the best place in the world for business is the United Arab Emirates with an index of 7.1.

– The environment is completely unfavorable for entrepreneurship, so a lot needs to be done. Early entrepreneurs do not turn into “established businesses” because in three and a half years they have not stood on their own feet, and by that measure, we are below the average of our comparator group. We need to work a lot on financial support for businesses, on consulting and mentoring support, especially for women entrepreneurs – listed Domljan.

GEM has 13 conditions in its analyses, and BiH has satisfactory conditions in only two, while only three countries meet all 13 conditions. For Bosnia and Herzegovina, demographic conditions represent a significant problem.

– Nothing worse can happen to a country than a decline in population. It is not a problem that the number of deaths exceeds the number of births; this happens in more than a hundred countries worldwide. Our “additional problem” is a very large migration. The problem is that workers are leaving and taking their families with them, so in the last 10 years, half a million people have left. We have lost customers, we are suffering from both the production side and the consumption side – warns Domljan, adding that the only solution is to increase productivity, competitiveness, and exports.

The executive director of the LINK Entrepreneurial Center Alisa Gekić emphasized that, however, not everything is so bleak and that BiH has some positive indicators.

– What is positive is that the results of the global report on the state of entrepreneurship show that some progress is visible. There is still a need to improve the business environment. Regarding legal regulations, it is essential to continue working on harmonizing legal provisions in BiH, harmonization between and within entities, and harmonization in accordance with EU practices – concluded Gekić. (29.04.)