The Prime Minister Ana Brnabic stated today that this year Serbia’s exports in the information and communication technology sector will exceed 1.7 billion euros, and that the surplus is one billion euros, which is not the case with any other sector in the domestic economy.
Brnabic stated that at the announcement of the winner of the first annual competition within the “StarTech” program, where one million dollars of support was awarded to startup teams, entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises for the realization of prominent project ideas in the field of innovation and digital transformation.
The Prime Minister said that Serbia had a record export of information and communication technology services in July, of 171 million euros, which is 56 percent more than in the same period in 2020 and 35 percent more than in July 2019.
“If we compare these results with July 2016, our exports are three times higher. The number of employees in the first quarter of 2020 in the programming sector has doubled compared to the same period in 2016, when about 19,000 were employed,” said Brnabic.
According to her, the average salary in the IT sector is three times higher than the average salary in Serbia and it amounts to a net 1.500 euros per month.
“In the future, we must further develop entrepreneurship, in order to have more startups and innovative companies, and that is what will bring us dynamic growth and development. In the past five years, we have invested a lot of money in the infrastructure for startups and innovation companies, we have opened four science and technology parks,” the Prime Minister emphasized.
She added that in 2016, Serbia started the transformation of the economy and society, so that it would be based on knowledge, high technologies and innovations, which can encourage faster and more dynamic growth and thus bring growth in salaries and pensions.
“Some of the things we have done in five years are the introduction of programming as a compulsory subject in the fifth grade of primary school, we have connected all schools to the Internet, increased the number of specialized IT departments in high schools, and many other things that have brought amazing results,” stated Brnabic.
She reminded that five years ago, 558,000 euros were allocated from the budget for the Innovation Fund, and that today that amount is 10.5 million euros.
The director of the National Alliance for Local and Economic Development (NALED), Violeta Jovanovic, stated that from March, when the competition within the “StarTech” program was opened, until June, 229 applications were received.
“Today, after four months of thorough selection, we have 29 winning teams in front of us. They will be rewarded with a million dollars in non-refundable aid with grants in the range of 22,500 to 100,000 dollars,” Jovanovic pointed out.
According to her, the winners not only receive money, but also enter the digital ecosystem, an innovative community that will receive additional mentoring support.
Aleksandar Jakovljevic, CEO of Phillip Morris, a company that supports the StarTech program, said the idea was to move the Serbian economy from a traditional economy to one based on knowledge, innovation and technology.
“This is where this project came from, which is a small step and the beginning. It is necessary to inspire other companies to join this initiative and for us all to work on it together,” said Jakovljevic, Danas reports.
