The potential of the IT industry is getting more and more attention from the public, and Montenegro is becoming an important country for IT investments. The figures at the conference organized by the ICT Cortex and the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro and presented the results of ICT research showed how much that potential actually is.
Montenegro records the growth of the ICT sector when analyzing the number of companies, employees, as well as revenues and profits. This was shown by the analysis of the IT sector in Montenegro, which was carried out for the needs of the ICT Cortex cluster by the consulting company CEED Consulting, under the auspices of the Reconomy program.
A particularly interesting fact of the research is that the export of computer services grew to a record 21% in 2022, while in 2017 it was only 3%.
The growth of the number of companies was influenced by the war in Ukraine. Despite the crisis, the IT sector recorded growth according to all observed parameters, and the IT industry achieved an increase in income. The analysis showed that companies are faced with a lack of qualified labor – said Jovana Vujacic in front of the CEED Consulting company.
The following interesting data stand out from the sample of 70 companies that participated in the survey:
As an important segment for improving the ecosystem for the development of the IT sector in Montenegro, 37.5% of companies highlight the introduction of PayPal or another credible payment processor.
Out of the total number of respondents, 82.8% of them intend for their employees to spend a certain part of their time on the development of new products.
In the next three years, 55.7% of them plan to create spinoffs and startups.
87.1% of companies plan to create new jobs in the next three years. In total, these companies plan to create 725 new jobs (out of 70 surveyed).
Of the total number of companies, 12.8% did not allocate funds for innovation. In other companies, an average of 20.1% of total revenue is directed to innovation. Every fifth company allocates 30% or more of its revenue to innovation.
The President of the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro, Nina Drakić, said that, in addition to tourism, agriculture and energy, the IT sector is recognized as a strategic sector.
The IT sector had the highest growth last year and that tells us about its potential – said Drakić.
Statistics show that the number of registered companies in the ICT sector on an annual basis has a constant growth. Last year, 1,497 companies were registered, and from the beginning of this year to April, 313 companies were registered.
During the last five years, the structure of the ICT sector has changed. Statistics show that 84% of the ICT sector is the IT sector. Compared to other sectors, the ICT sector deserves to be a priority economic branch – said Nada Rakočević, secretary of the Board of the Information and Communication Technologies Association within the PKCG.
She additionally highlighted key figures and pointed to an increase in the number of companies in 2021 and 2021 by almost 70%, while the number of employees increased by 44%. The ICT Cortex cluster announced that last year’s revenues in the ICT industry amounted to EUR 602.43 million.
Compared to 2019, the net result was over 100%. With the growth of ICT companies, the number of employees also grows, which was 30% higher last year compared to 2021 – said Milena Aković from the ICT Cortex cluster.
She said that it is necessary to highlight the importance and potential of the IT industry, which should become a strategic branch.
Vladan Tabaš, executive director of the company Čikom and president of the ICT Cortex Board of Directors, said that the IT sector is growing rapidly, but that we cannot be satisfied with the level of digital transformation of society.
IT has progressed to a great extent, but digital transformation is slow in Montenegro. We are entering the digital world, and perhaps the turning point was the corona virus pandemic. Our brake is the education system that does not provide personnel. We need personnel and that is why we are appealing for many things to change in the education system of Montenegro – said Tabaš.
