The Startup Ecosystem of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a fascinating place, full of talented people, but facing a problematic geopolitical situation which creates challenges and uncertain conditions for its local entrepreneurs. The geopolitical strains make it difficult for this beautiful country to convince large global corporations to tap into the country’s talented workforce. A report by the World Bank points out that public policies and initiatives favor the public over private sector, consumption over investment, and imports over exports, which constrains the growth of the private sector.
These factors have pushed many talented IT professionals toward offering their services remotely to companies from the West, and have resulted in brain drain as talented Bosnians move to countries that offer better opportunities. International organizations are active supporters of the growth of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s private sector development. For instance, a consortium consisting of German GIZ, UNDP, and the ILO has introduced the EU4Business project. The project aims to provide startups with assistance in job creation. Another impactful initiative is the Burch Incubator, a collaborative effort of SwissEP and International Burch University to inspire youth entrepreneurship.
Other key ecosystem players include various private and non-profit organizations, such as the Ministry of Programming (a prominent startup studio), STARTER, HUB387, Intera Technology Park, Foundation 787, and Foundation Mozaik.
The Bosnian startup scene is still not focused on a specific industry. There are startups in ecommerce, blockchain, HR, and many other industries. Similar to other countries in the Balkans, the IT outsourcing industry is popular, but things are changing, and with the right incentives, Sarajevo may become an important technology hub in the region.