Sanjin Arifagić, regional director of Financial Markets International, the consulting firm that led the project in which 28 million dollars were collected and 2,000 jobs were created, told Bloomberg Adria Start that the diaspora is most interested in investing in the manufacturing industry and the IT sector, as well as tourism , energy and agriculture.
He added that it is precisely in these industries that the greatest potential for foreign investors is hidden.
“What we noticed on the ground is that, apart from the emotional connection they have with their homeland, they also have a profit motive and most of the projects used BiH’s cost advantage. Most of the companies we have worked with are companies founded by people from the diaspora, who worked in those industries and sectors in the European Union and the United States of America. These are companies that in the last five years generated 75 percent of their revenue from foreign markets,” said Arifagić.
He also said that the difference between companies founded by people from the diaspora and companies founded by people living in BiH is that the former pay more attention to things such as integration into value chains, application of the best technologies and organizational practices, relationships according to employees. However, through cooperation between companies, these practices are transferred to companies established in BiH, which facilitates their internationalization, reports Bloomberg Adria.