Innovation-Driven Ecosystems
The World Bank’s Doing Business indicators paint an unflattering picture of much of the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region’s economies. Economic hardships and a lack of opportunities and future prospects result in sizeable migration that drains the region of its most educated and skilled residents. The region’s most depressed area is the Western Balkans with per capita income of just 27% of the EU15 average. Over 50% of its youth population is unemployed, with one country reporting a staggering 63%, the Europe’s highest. Women participation in the active labour market starts at dismal 30%, while the region’s SME sector and SEs in the impact sector provide less than 30% of total employment.
The business environment in most countries of the CEE region remains challenging, exhibiting macroeconomic instability, fast and drastic political changes, and a general lack of understanding or support to startup culture and thinking. The region’s small and medium enterprises (SME) and social enterprises (SE) identify political instability, corruption, poor access to finance, high tax rates as the main constraints to doing business. International actors point to low productivity as the fundamental problem holding back the region’s economic development reflecting years of under-investment, weak institutions and a difficult business environment. In both…
