Sarajevo, September 30, 2019 - A workshop was held today to discuss the analysis of the state of industrial development, creative industry and smart specialization in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The organizer of the fourth in a series of workshops related to the creation of the Development Strategy of Federation of BiH 2021 - 2027, is the team of the Federal Institute for Development Programming.
Industry is one of the most important growth factors of any country striving for economic development and prosperity. Bosnia and Herzegovina is an industrial country, with mining, manufacturing and the production and supply of electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning being the most prevalent. The strengths of industry in the Federation of BiH lie in its tradition of business, experienced workforce, product quality, cost of labor compared to the surrounding countries, geographical proximity to the EU market, flexibility of production, secure energy supply and lack of export quotas. Weaknesses limiting this area include technological obsolescence and low investment in new technology development, inadequate vocational training and insufficient number of local brands, low level of research and development of new processes, products and services, low level of digitization and automation, as well as long company registration process.
Creative economy is, for more developed societies, a new phase of socioeconomic development. The creative industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been neglected in institutional and systemic terms, on the other hand we can boast of a rich culture, talented individuals and a tradition of creativity. Our country lacks a perception of the creative industries as drivers of development and socio-economic advancement of society. BiH has an abundance of talents in all segments of creative industry, but they need support. Creative industries have great economic potential, but it is necessary to systematically support their development and networking with regional initiatives in the future.
Smart specialization is closely linked to innovation capacity, the growth of industrial innovation, but also to the strengthening of the competitiveness of fast-growing industries. The Federation has not yet taken a decisive step towards smart specialization.
The discussion during the work was led by prof. Mesud Ramić who was encouraging representatives of key players in the field of industrial development, creative industry and smart specialization (Government of the Federation of BiH, Federal and Cantonal Ministries, Chambers of Commerce, ...) to recognize key problems, challenges and potentials in this field. Guest of the workshop was Jan Vozab, an expert from the Czech Republic, who presented his country's experiences in implementing smart specialization and industry development.