14. 2. 2018 | BIH - Entrepreneurs, PR, Youth
Centre for European perspective (CEP) has successfully concluded its second pit-stop of the Start:up Balkan tour in Sarajevo. 50 young entrepreneurial people participated in the workshop and 6 start-ups pitched their idea in front of business experts and potential investors.
Event in Sarajevo was opened by H. E. Mrs Zorica Bukinac, Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia, who gave an insight into Slovenian role in the project and stressed the importance of such projects for both countries. Secondly, participants were welcomed at Networks by Alma Muharemović, Operational Manager, local partner of the project in BiH, who shortly shed a light on the state of the start-up ecosystem in BiH. She was followed by Ms Meliha Muherina, CEP Project Manager, who gave an insight into the beginnings of the project started by CEP within Positive Agenda for the Youth in the Western Balkans, adopted at the Brdo-Brijuni process summit in Slovenia in April 2015. Finally Matej Rus presented Podim conference and ways for startups to join.
Keynote speeches were delivered by Darko Butina, Partner, BUDS (Slovenia), with a salient topic on blockchain, cryptos and ICOs, where an interesting debate erupted on examples of successful and unsuccessful uses of blockchain technology and Domagoj Oreb, Partner, SC Ventures, who elaborated on the seed investments, lifetime cycle of start-ups, what it means to be investable, and have three main things a start-up has to focus on (market, technology and team). Finally, a 1:1 chat was held with Elena Sinel, Founder/CEO, Acorn Aspirations (United Kingdom), who gave an insight into her work giving support to teenagers in start-up ecosystem. Investors joined into a panel on current funding landscape in the region, where good pitching, red flags, team dynamics, role of advisors and many more were disccussed.
6 local start-ups were given a chance for a three-minute pitch, followed by a feedback delivered by experts and potential investors. Event concluded with informal meeting in relaxed environment between investors and startups.
Event in Sarajevo is part of the project ‘Empowering BiH young entrepreneurs’, financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Slovenia in the framework of Slovenia’s development cooperation.
Read this article in Slovene language.
14. 2. 2018 | PR, Slovenian Development Assistance
After the obvious lethargy with the European Union by the politicians from the Western Balkans, who were in the last decade justifiably asking for some signal that enlargement is possible in the foreseeable future, that sign finally arrived in the form of the new the new European Commission’s Strategy for the Western Balkans on 6 February. After the EU and the region were caught in a limbo for a decade in which the EU demanded to see improvement in the region first but the region also anticipated a clear sign that EU’s expansion is actually possible, the EU finally did its homework.
After years of the situation deteriorating in the Balkans, where many social parameters declined badly, the EU included the Western Balkans on the enlargement map again. The Strategy indicates a year of 2025 as a possible year for the frontrunners, Serbia and Montenegro, to join the EU. It is now the Western Balkans’ homework to start delivering. Realistically, ten years from now seem like a more convincing date, however and more importantly, there seems to be the light at the end of the tunnel. The Strategy seems to arrive in the last moment before being too late. The region witnessed numerous small scale events, which contributed to the deteriorating of the security situation and reconciliation, especially between Serbia and Kosovo as well as in Macedonia. They proved that leaving the Western Balkans outside of the EU with no clear signals by the EU adds to the serious risks of even further democratic decline in the region.
The Strategy should now present an orientation plan in the state administrations of the Western Balkans six in order to boost the reform processes since it clearly recognizes the most pertaining problems the region: state capture, bilateral disputes and serious political interference in the media. The Strategy also proposes some encouraging measures, the opening of the additional EU funds, Western Balkans six government members could be included in the decision making process before the EU membership and lifting the barriers for trade and travel. The new Strategy puts a lot of emphasis on the rule of law with cooperation in security and migration through joint investigating teams and the European Border and Coast Guard, however there is not much direction how to achieve it in a step by step manner. External monitoring will be of utmost importance through various initiatives that are already active in the Western Balkans, each contributing a little piece in the mosaic, mostly country reports but also additional new tools and ad hoc reports in the field of corruption and organised crime since those fields, together with the judicial reform can pave the ground for the stable security situation on which further economic progress can be built.
2018 is thus setting the tone of what to expect in the years to come from the countries of the Western Balkans. ‘They will have to act with determination. Accession is and will remain a merit-based process fully dependent on the objective progress achieved by each country,’ stressed Commissioner Hahn, underlining that the process looks like a regatta and countries may catch up or overtake each other depending on progress made. The most difficult issue seem to be bilateral disputes, namely over borders, independence of Kosovo and the facts of wars in the 90s. There is no recipe on how to solve the bilateral disputes in the enlargement strategy. The current process of resolving the bilateral dispute between Greece and Macedonia nicely shows that those processes should be supported also by EU member states. If Greece and Macedonia fail to find an agreement on the name issue very soon, this will be a very bad signal for the whole region.
Civil society and all other actors across the EU and Western Balkans involved in the processes of region’s accession should be now involved as much as possible, so they can be able to put pressure on their own governments and support them in the right directions.
Op-ed was written by Ivana Boštjančič Pulko, Project Manager and Researcher at the Centre for European Perspective since 2008. Her focus are mainly development assistance projects in the Western Balkans in the area of security sector and rule of law reform as well as research activities in the field of conflict prevention and crisis management.
The views expressed in CEP commentary are the views of the author alone.
14. 2. 2018 | PR, Start:up Balkan, Youth
Centre for European perspective (CEP) has successfully launched its first event in the framework of the Start:up Balkan tour. 80 young entrepreneurial people participated in the workshop and 10 start-ups pitched their idea in front of business experts and potential investors.
Event in Belgrade was opened by Zoja Kukić, SEE ICT, who shortly presented start-up ecosystem in Serbia, and main issues in the region, followed by Simona Grobelnik, Head of Development, Slovene enterprise fund, who presented good practices of start-up ecosystem in Slovenia, touched upon the importance of hearing out the needs of startups and stressed the need for cooperation between public and private sectors. Gorazd Justinek, CEP Director shade a light on role of CEP as the initiator of the project held as one of the first projects within Positive Agenda for the Youth in the Western Balkans adopted at the Brdo-Brijuni process summit in Slovenia in April 2015. Finally Matej Rus presented Podim conference and ways for startups to join.
Keynote speeches were delivered by Darko Butina, Partner, BUDS (Slovenia), with a salient topic on blockchain, cryptos and ICOs, Philipp Stangl, Managing Director at Pioneers Ventures (Austria) with insights on how to successfuly start a start-up and Carlos Eduardo Espinal, Managing Partner at Seedcamp (United Kingdom) with importance and advantages of investments in the region. Investors joined into a panel on current funding landscape in the region.
10 local and international start-ups were given a chance for a three-minute pitch, followed by a feedback delivered by experts and potential investors. Event concluded with informal meeting in relaxed environment between investors and startups.
Start:up Balkan is program in the framework of the project ‘Establishing an Integrated Start-up Ecosystem in the Western Balkans’ powered by CEP and PODIM and supported by the British embassy in Ljubljana.
14. 2. 2018 | PR, V4, Youth
In January, CEP has launched a call for applications among young people in Western Balkan who should outline solution and policy recommendation proposals on the most pressing challenges in their countries. We received 33 essays on the topic. One individual will be selected from each country and will get a chance to shape his or her future in Brussels. Results will be made available by 19 February 2018.
Public debate in Brussels in April 2018 will involve young individuals from all Western Balkan countries! Centre for European Perspective is organizing an event titled Back on the Agenda: EU Enlargement and Western Balkans, which will be addressing the EU enlargement fatigue on one side and Western Balkans’ lack of reform on the other.
In order to trigger new debate on EU, also in the light of the recent EU Enlargement Strategy for Western Balkans, various stakeholders will take an active role in the discussion, including young people of Western Balkans, who are incremental for the process.
Event is done in cooperation with Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade (IFAT) (Hungary), EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy (Czech Republic), Slovak Foreign Affairs Association (SFPA)and Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) and supported by International Visegrad fund.
9. 2. 2018 | Kosovo - Entrepreneurs, PR, Youth
Entrepreneurial mindset and innovative thinking are the foundation of a healthy growth of the economy, which in turn ensures prosperity and an adequate level of development for all inhabitants. This is particularly important in less stable economic environments and countries where youth unemployment is quite high, as in Kosovo, for example. CEP has been with project ‘Empowering Kosovo young entrepreneurs’ for the third consecutive year supporting young Kosovo entrepreneurs and young people with entrepreneurial ideas who would like to develop and upgrade/advance their ideas. CEP assist them to meet and connect, as together, with different approaches and broader pressures, they can influence the entrepreneurial climate in their own country. Through our engagement we brought together over 300 individuals who are aware that for making some changes, they must be active and take part for the changes – only in this way they will be able to change their environment for the better.
CEP with leading regional startup conference PODIM, which takes place every year in May in Maribor, organizes a competition through which the best entrepreneurial ideas and presentations are selected. For 20 young entrepreneurs (team members and their mentors) transport, accommodation and a ticket to the PODIM conference are provided. We are thus spreading their knowledge of entrepreneurial steps, offering them the opportunity to meet potential investors, and, last but not least, with the like-minded from the entire Alpe-Adria region.
Young people have to submit a presentation of their entrepreneurial idea for the competition, which is then reviewed by the expert commission. As we have seen in recent years that presentations submitted from the region could be better, we will organize a workshop, where young people will find out all about the competition, the conference and get opportunity to pitch in front experts and colleagues. At the same time, they will be able to listen to experienced investors on how to scale the company’s growth, when/how investors decide to support the idea and what are the forecasts for investments in the region in 2018. The whole workshop program is available here.
The workshop will be held on Tuesday, February 20 2018, in Pristina, at the premises of Innovation Centre Kosovo. Participation is free, but the previous registration is recommended here.
The project ‘Empowering Kosovo young entrepreneurs’ is part of our program activities, financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Slovenia in the framework of Slovenia’s development cooperation. Similar project in the framework of the Slovenia’s development cooperation is running as well for empowering youth entrepreneurs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. More about the workshop in Sarajevo can be read at this link.
As CEP events were well attended and involved actors provided very good feedback, some countries from the region expressed their interest for similar program. CEP will therefore this year, with support of British Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), widen its activities to four additional states – Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia – through program Start:up Balkan. Read more about it here.
Read this article in Slovene language.
