The proportion of female-owned businesses in Montenegro saw a notable increase last year, rising by over 20 percent compared to 2022. This growth was highlighted at a recent conference held as part of the “Top Women Business Montenegro” (TWBM) initiative, which brought together key stakeholders from both the public and private sectors, along with international organizations. Major sponsors, including NLB Bank, the Secretariat of the Council for Competitiveness (SCC), the Chamber of Commerce (PKCG), and UNDP, emphasized the initiative’s significance for empowering women entrepreneurs in the country.
Ljiljana Burzan-Nikolić, Executive Director of TWBM and the Agency for Creative Communications BI Communication, noted that not only is the number of female-owned businesses on the rise, but there has also been a substantial growth of over 20 percent in the past year.
“This increase is significantly higher than the overall growth in businesses. For the first time since we began monitoring, we will see an uptick in the share of female-owned businesses within the total number of businesses. It’s worth mentioning that a considerable number of new female businesses are established by foreign nationals. Unfortunately, we were unable to analyze this aspect in detail due to the lack of public data on the country of origin of these women,” said Burzan-Nikolić.
She pointed out that this information could be crucial for policymakers in shaping relevant strategies.
While it is too early to definitively conclude that this growth is sustainable and a direct result of systemic support for women’s entrepreneurship in Montenegro, Burzan-Nikolić highlighted its significance.
Dragan Kujović, Vice President of PKCG, stated that women’s entrepreneurship is the fastest-growing segment in the entrepreneurial landscape, impacting countries across different stages of economic development.
“By fostering women’s entrepreneurship, we create the conditions for job creation and innovation, contributing to the overall advancement of society,” Kujović remarked.
He added that PKCG aims to further enhance and participate in the development of women’s entrepreneurship through its independent efforts and partnership projects like TWBM, ultimately creating new value within the Montenegrin economy.
Ekaterina Paniklova, UNDP’s Resident Representative in Montenegro, stressed that progress in business, as in any other field, requires harnessing the full potential of all human resources.
“Although women constitute approximately 43 percent of the employed population in Montenegro, they occupy only 20 percent of leadership positions. This gap highlights the ongoing need for efforts to reduce gender disparities in leadership and entrepreneurship. To genuinely progress, we must utilize the full spectrum of human capital,” Paniklova emphasized.
Marija Šuković, Head of the Secretariat of the Council for Competitiveness, noted that the varied activities of the SCC reflect how multifaceted this issue is, necessitating action across multiple sectors and the involvement of diverse stakeholders to achieve meaningful results.
Jelena Vujović, a strategic marketing and communications expert at NLB Bank, stated that the bank is committed to the TWBM initiative, which systematically and professionally promotes women’s entrepreneurship.
