Start-ups and Youth Entrepreneurship

Hello,

It's a pleasure to welcome you to the Economic Stability Consultation Group. In this thread, we will address the issue of Youth Entrepreneurship in the Western Balkans region through the proliferation of startups in the regional economies. I am looking forward to your views and comments during the Online Consultation Process.

Dear all, @antoaneta1 has uploaded the following document for your perusal:
https://loomio-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/files/000/135/063/original/EU_policy_brif_Youth_Entp%282017%29608683_EN.pdf
Comments and views greatly appreciated. Regards, Dario

Hello,
Since this is my first post i would like to bring into the attention f this forum what has changed since Trieste concerning youth entrepreneurship. Unfortunately, in practice not much. We still talk of strategies, laws and plans which are not backed by funds. Personally i find more productive the work and start-up funding at municipality level rather than at national level. BH has some good practices in Tezla municipality linked to start-up funding for youth. Albania is suffering from high level brain drain and emigration and youth are the first to leave. Every single support scheme is linked to small loans, on agriculture. Well, many youth do not want to work in agriculture at least the way it is framed today so all the EU funding on IPARD or other schemes is not used.
Governments should propose a National Youth Fund which supports various support schemes in many fields and not linked to a specific sector; frequent calling 3-4 items per year; targeting rural and distant areas which are more prone to leave; funding through local government which makes it more decentralized; zero paper policy.

Dear @margaritabuxhaku, thank you for this insightful update. Could you point us to relevant reports, source and/or stats that relate to these items? Best, Dario

Dear @hermine1 and @antoaneta1 - thank you for uploading the documents to the group. To all members, you can find the new documents in the Attachment section on the group's main page. For easier reference, here the direct links:
Dear all, please note the new documents uploaded to the group. You can find them in the documents section of the group
https://loomio-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/files/000/136/425/original/Western_Balkans_Labor_market_trends_2018_final.pdf
https://loomio-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/files/000/136/423/original/wiiw_Research_Report_420.pdf
http://www.aspeninstitute.de/wp-content/uploads/A-European-Future-for-the-Western-Balkans.pdf

Greeting,
Here is very interesting document with some generally usable insights, regarding Public Policy Recommendations in the Area of Youth Entrepreneurship. It have been developed for Montenegro in the partnership of the UN System, the Ministry of Finance and the Directorate for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises.

Thank you @bozinastesevic for this contribution. It will be duly referenced in the consultations outputs.

We apologize for the belated response, and hope this comment will be taken in consideration.

Based on our experience and work with young people who want to start a business in B&H and with young entrepreneurs who are developing their business, here are the recommendations which would encourage their endeavors and contribute to a more favorable entrepreneurial climate in B&H:
- Based on research we did in 2016, two biggest motives for young people wanting to start their own business are desire for success and creation of work in the lack of job opportunities on the market; 60% of the inquired would start a business on their own and 40% of them would do it in partnership;
- As the biggest obstacles for starting their business, young people find lack of initial funds (51,8%), unfavorable economic surrounding (27,6%) and lack of information/ specific knowledge 13,5%.

These information tell us that young people see that, in the light of a high unemployment rate in the country, they need and want to start a business in order to create jobs for themselves and others.
Thus, the existing legislation in the country needs to be amended in order to recognize the changes in the society. According to the information from FBiH Government one stop shops are in the process of establishment, in accordance with the recommendations set out in the EU-BiH Reform Agenda. FBiH Government plans these offices to be within regional trade courts and that persons employed should be fully knowledgeable to provide advice to persons seeking to establish businesses. Nevertheless, this will require establishment of regional trade courts in cities where these do not exist. Also, courts are under the competence of the High Judicial and Prosecutor Council and we see this as an issue which might prolong the establishment of one stop shops in FBiH. In Republika Srpska one stop shops exist but entrepreneurs say they are still obliged to go around many institutions to get all the documentation. The waiting period for getting an approval to start a business takes around one month if there are not major difficulties.
One-stop shop system could be reinforced with the online consultancy activities (for instance one year in duration where certain number of experienced consultants would be available to direct and provide basic advice to people starting their businesses) and in that way alleviate laborious start of the work of the system which is expected to experience glitches. Online consultancy system would provide temporary solution for those places which don't have "infrastructure" (such as courts) to start one-stop shop.

In B&H, there is a 1 established company/proprietorship per 40 inhabitants. This, in conjunction with other factors, makes B&H the single worst performer when it comes to entrepreneurship in Western Balkans.
Funds aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship in B&H also need to be streamlined to non-formal educative programs for young people, which would be organized around topics such as start-up creation, financial literacy, trade readiness, social entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial and management skills. These should rather be activities of longer duration as they yield better effect - young people acquire knowledge more easily, remain motivated and committed to entrepreneurial activities and have an instance where they can ask for advice and upgrade their know-how.

In B&H, mandatory salary contributions are very high and amount to around 60% of the salary and additional money which the employer needs to pay on the net amount of the employee's salary.

Internet, social media and technologies are a very popular and growing area in B&H. Many young people opt for these careers and most often work for companies abroad or do not register their work or activities in B&H. Although this creates income for themselves, they are registered as unemployed and they do not contribute to the overall system in B&H. The institutions in B&H need to stimulate registration of business in B&H for young people. It can be done either subsidizing the first year of contributions, providing reductions for office space, amending legislation in this regard to be in accordance with the market trends. We do not see any of these, world known examples of supporting establishment of new businesses, even discussed in B&H.

Please don't hesitate to contact us in need of further clarifications.

Thank you @fondacija787 for this insight. The comment is timely and will be sources accordingly. Best regards, Dario