To improve the business environment in Montenegro, it is important for the state to create an environment that companies will recognize. This does not mean that he gives grants, but that he makes good arrangements with the European Union so that the funds that exist in the EU are used one hundred percent, said the director and co-founder of the startup company Uhura Solutions Đuro Stojanović, guesting on the podcast of the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro as part of the campaign “Strength is in all of us”.
He explained that domestic startup companies usually open abroad because foreign investors rarely invest in the countries of the region due to the uncertainty of the legal system and frequent changes in tax laws, which he sees as a business barrier. He believes that, therefore, the state must have a more proactive approach.
– The utilization of funds is very low at the moment. This means that we don’t know how to write projects, we don’t know how to communicate with people from the European Commission, we don’t know how to monitor those projects and that’s why we don’t get money – said Stojanović.
He explained that startups are generally defined as fast-growing businesses, mostly in the technology field.
– When we talk about fast growing, I mean how can a company that is now worth zero euros, for example. in 5-7 years it will be worth a billion. It’s that exponential growth. If I create a software program and then sell it over the Internet, I don’t need to have premises, people, offices, sales, it’s enough for me to have online software and then thousands or millions of people can use that same software. So it’s much easier to scale a tech company. If you want to scale, you have to be inventive, because someone has already done it before you, so you have to find something that doesn’t exist on the market in order to try to grow quickly – pointed out Stojanović.
Solving problems on a global level was the business policy he followed by creating a company based in Great Britain and a “daughter” company in Montenegro, which uses artificial intelligence to automate processes based on document processing.
– Whoever had the opportunity to do anything with an administration, for example he applies for a loan, brings a large number of documents to some companies, he knows how slow the process is, how many elements are involved, and now we are helping both banks and their clients to go through this process “painlessly” – said Stojanović.
In business, he says, the goal is not as important as the journey itself, and he advises all young people who want to try their hand at entrepreneurship to ask themselves if their idea is big enough to change the world and not to be afraid of entering the big market.
– One of the key elements of a successful business is self-belief and that what we know and do is just as good at a certain level of development as in any other company abroad. I am convinced that the best talents from Montenegro, with enough strength and endurance, can succeed in the world – believes Stojanović.
In all of this, failure, he says, is just an opportunity to learn.
