Information and technology (IT) sector has recorded the rise and it represents one of the fastest growing economy sectors in BiH. Engagement of western IT companies was the usual way for an outflow of money from BiH for years, but today this sector in BiH has the potential to be a leading industry that generates the greatest profit in relation to the gross domestic product (GDP), said Director of the Center for Transatlantic Relations SAIS in Washington Sasa Toperic in the article that he wrote for the Huffington Post.
In recent years, young software engineers and experts started establishing their own companies, thus raising the level of digitalization in our country. They are now working side by side with large foreign companies. This led to an extraordinary growth of the IT sector. The number of companies and new start-ups is constantly growing, and according to the association BIT Alliance (the organization for the industry of software development) about 1,400 companies and about 2,500 to 3,500 developers are working in the IT and computer programming sector in BiH.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recognized the potential and established cooperation with BIT Alliance to implement a six-month project “ICT boot camp”. BIT Alliance is an organization whose members are companies that are export oriented and they managed to generate 20 million USD of exports in 2015. They are employing 700 workers.
An example of a successful company is “Lanaco“, the largest private company in this sector in the territory of BiH, which was established in Banja Luka in 1990. At the same time, it is one of the best family companies in the Western Balkans. It operates in 10 departments and employs more than 280 people.
Another example is misija:web, a consulting company in Sarajevo, which was established in 2003. It has grown from a local company into an international company that realizes projects for clients around the world. They are employing young and ambitious engineers and workers who collaborate with a growing market of small and medium-sized enterprises as well as start-ups from different industrial sectors.
This sector has great potential to positively impact on the unemployment rate in BiH. The Government should recognize the potential and provide incentives and subsidies for the IT industry. According to “BIT Alliance”, BiH spends only 0.04 % of its GDP on this industry, while the world average is 2.7 %.
The countries of Western Balkan still have deep wounds from the past, but they should support these highly qualified professionals who can help them in shaping a brighter future, creation of new workplaces, and thus strengthening of security and stability in the region as well. The participation of state institutions in the strategic approach is essential for this sector in order to achieve system solutions.
These people live in a world of 0 and 1, always living and thinking globally, constantly in a matrix infinite network of the latest technology and the development of digital world for all parts of our lives. They are not burdened by daily politics, ethnic divisions, history and political crises that are often leading to depression, slowing down the reconstruction of the region, and progress to European integration. Therefore, these are really encouraging news, wrote Toperic.
(Source: FENA)
