Page 29 - RBI FIntech Atlas 2018

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Spotlight Kosovo
Skyline of Pristina with the National Library, Kosovo
The past few years have seen not only signi cant growth in the number of ntech startups in Kosovo but also the creation of two hubs, Gjirafa Lab and the Innovation Center Kosovo (ICK). This intense activity culminated in 2018 when ICK partnered with Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo in the staging of the Elevator Lab.
Both the Government of Kosovo and several foreign governments provide grants to stimulate innovation and the startup community in the country. Tax rates are among the lowest in Europe, (e.g. 10% corporate and 0 to 10% personal taxes) and the environment is business-friendly. Bureaucracy is minimal and companies can be set up online in just three working days.
Kosovo’s ntech community can point to a number of success stories – both domestic and international. Trekandi and AR Vision, who occupied the top two places in the Elevator Lab Challenge, have developed strongly and are already offering their services abroad. Trekandi,
a startup from Gjirafa Lab, is an online platform on which consumers and small businesses can save time on, for example, unnecessary bank visits by transparently researching and comparing nancial products such as loans. AR Vision, which emerged from the ICK, works with augmented and virtual reality and, as well as expanding to Scandinavia, is currently working on a proof of concept with Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo. The ntech sector is not yet established within the education system. No university runs courses on the subject.
Kosovo, a landlocked country in the heart of the Balkans, has an average GDP growth of 4.1%. The country,
42% of the population of which is under 25, is seeing a signi cant increase in both the number of IT-related jobs and the export of IT services. Kosovo’s ntech scene meets most of its limited funding needs from foreign VCs.
Country data
Population (M) 1.8
GDP total (€ Bn) 7 GDP per capita (€, at PPP) 7,900 GDP growth (%) 4.2
Of cial currency EUR
Source: Eurostat, IMF, European Commission, RBI/Raiffeisen RESEARCH Data for 2018, estimates
Total bank assets (€ Bn) 4 Total bank assets / GDP (%) 62
Account ownership (% of population) 52
Debit card ownership (% of population) 37
Internet usage (% of population) 80
Usage of internet to pay bills (% of population) 7
Send/received digital payments (% of population) 39
Latest available data as of 2017/2018
Source: ECB, national sources, World Bank, RBI/Raiffeisen RESEARCH