Over the past five years, many efforts have been made to support fruit production in the Birač region. As a result, this sector of the economy has experienced steady growth. That’s a good thing, as this is one of the only sources of income for many young people.
But what happens to those who face long-term unemployment? How does a lack of jobs and economic resources affect this population? Is leaving the region the only option they have, since agriculture is not a solution for everyone?
Milovan Petković, an entrepreneur from Milići, sums up the experience of many young people from Birač. “Our grandfathers have occupied woods and meadows, our fathers all major functions in society, and when it comes to us young people, only the virtual world remains. ” What makes Milovan stand out from the crowd, though, is his inexhaustible hunger for knowledge. This professor of physics is also an award-winning mathematician and an avid reader, and he’s self-taught in programming and digital marketing. A few years ago, the lack of job opportunities lead this brilliant young man to leave the country and seek his fortune elsewhere. But after feeling homesick and realizing that he didn’t like his new lifestyle abroad, he returned to Milići.
Things didn’t get any easier, though. Young people are often economically marginalized, as they make up more than half of the total number of unemployed in the region. He was disappointed at first, but soon managed to regain his confidence and motivation, and he decided to start his own business. Milovan is now the owner of several games and applications, one of which is Man truck errors, an app made for truck drivers.
Let’s imagine that a truck driver is faced with a problem or a breakdown on the road. Very often, he’s in the middle of nowhere. Either that or it’s late in the night and the repair services are not open. When a problem happens, the dashboard of the truck shows an error code that must be translated to be understood. The biggest dilemma for the driver in this situation is whether to stop and waste precious time on something that’s not really a problem, or to continue driving despite the risk. Milovan’s idea helps truck drivers make an informed decision; his new application translates the error and tells the driver what to do and how to find help on the road.
Milovan was one of the beneficiaries of the Economic Empowerment of Youth project, implemented by Kolektiv/Posao.ba from March, 2015 to March, 2017. Through this project, 12 new start-ups from the Birač region were helped to develop innovative business ideas. Young people from five municipalities would gather at the Business centre in Srebrenica, an incubator and co-working space established through the project, where they learned about business development and collaborated on their new business ventures. This is where Milovan got additional motivation to start his business, as well as an opportunity to connect with other entrepreneurs.
“What I do is called Internet Entrepreneurship or Digital Entrepreneurship”, Milovan explains. “The Internet gives you the ability to test ideas and even start up your business for a minimal cost. Never before did we have such opportunities and we need to use them. There are many businesses that one can start from anywhere.”
Although the IT sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina has great potential for development, Milovan believes that the country is facing a serious problem:
Both hardware and software are needed to develop the sector. Hardware is technology and infrastructure that requires money; software are brains and young people with ideas. I’m afraid we’ll miss the opportunity, the changes are not happening fast enough, there is no systematic approach to problem solving, and young people are the weakest link in the chain. What concerns me the most is the brain drain, because it could mean that once we finally have the infrastructure, we won’t have the young people to implement the ideas.
Milovan is optimistic that things will change, and says that despite the adversities young people face, they should work hard and never give up on their ideas. He also hopes that the authorities will take more serious measures, to create better opportunities for young people.
