A regional forum on innovation, entrepreneurship and technology aims to boost chances for Bosnians starting their own businesses, but bureaucratic complexities still create problems for the country’s budding businesspeople.
Denis Zvizdic, the chair of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Council of Ministers, painted an optimistic picture in his speech to the Sarajevo Unlimited regional forum on Tuesday, saying that regional cooperation and networking would help young entrepreneurs find their place on the global market.
Zvizdic insisted that “there are very talented young people living in this area who can be true bearers of economic development”.
But when it comes to the practicalities of starting a business, many Bosnians face difficulties, and argue that the state authorities should rethink tax policies and overly bureaucratic procedures.
Ena Sosevic, whose start-up, Bizbook, offers small and medium-sized companies an interactive platform to promote their services and connect with potential business partners or new clients, said the country must provide a better legal framework if officials want to have more people engaged in small- or medium-sized businesses.
“Various laws on all levels in the state should be rewritten when it comes to taxes, finances and other procedures needed when trying to run a legal business,” Sosevic said.
She also said that many young Bosnians could find a job in IT but this requires not only proper educational programmes in schools but also strong will and creativity.
Bosnians wishing to start their own business need 81 days to complete all the procedures, which involve 13 steps, according to the World Bank’s annual Doing Business report.
By comparison, in the Netherlands, it takes half a day to complete such procedures.
The World Bank report ranked Bosnia and Herzegovina in 89th place out of 190 countries in 2018 when it comes to the ease of doing business.
Last year, the country was ranked in 76th place, which suggests the situation is regressing.
Some 14,500 new businesses were started in 2017 in Bosnia, according to the tax administration.
Taxes remain high in Bosnia and few companies generate large revenues, statistics show.
Of the 14,500 new companies registered in 2017, only 2,574 are registered at the Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia as generating an income higher than 25,000 euros.
The World Bank report also noted out that, over the course of one year, a business owner has to pay different taxes 33 times, which deters many prospective entrepreneurs.
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