The Future of Macedonian Business: Embracing Change and Charting New Paths

As part of the marketing agency BDG, over the span of a decade I’ve had the privilege of becoming friends with, and hearing the views and private thoughts of, some of the biggest names in our country’s business sector - in a state history that isn’t exactly long. I’ve spent days on end in conversations about the evolution of our economy, the creativity, courage and know-how of the Macedonian market. But the conclusion, year after year, is that as the presence of great ideas grows, it’s increasingly matched, step for step, by a shortage of capital to actually make them happen.

As president of the Young Entrepreneurs Association and a member of the MB at the Economic Chamber - the conversations I have with member companies all point to the same need: affordable credit lines, business incubators, or projects backed by government or investors willing to finance new ventures.

Einstein said insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. In economic terms, that translates roughly to: “Innovation is reason and wisdom. Repeating the same thing while expecting it to produce growth is a sign of insanity.” So where do we start?

Probably by accepting the reality of certain conditions - specific disparities that hold back progress, and that don’t get talked about often enough:

• First, the gap between labor and capital. Put simply, neither workers are happy with their employers, nor employers with their workers. Workers think entrepreneurs are getting rich off their backs; employers, meanwhile, constantly complain about employee unproductivity.
• Second is the ratio between the working and dependent population. With a ratio where every 1 working person supports 1.2 dependents, it’s hard to expect progress without “Korean-style” dedication and sacrifice — that’s simply math.
• Third, and critically important, is the disparity in legal and business continuity through changes in government. Here, when power changes hands, everything changes with it! There’s no progress in economies where a signed contract, a project already underway under one administration, becomes worthless the moment a new official sits down in the chair. This produces a whole series of unwanted, damaging behaviors - a rush to “finish” and “get done” whatever can be done while the mandate lasts, while whatever can’t be finished gets abandoned, even halfway, purely out of insecurity — the certainty that it will be multiplied by zero after the change.

And, inevitably, there are the expectations around rule of law. During a recent visit by the Governor of the National Bank of Poland, in a meeting with our businesspeople and decision-makers, instead of talking economics, he insisted on talking about rule of law. Asked why, he simply answered that there is no quality growth - not even 1% - without it. Simply put, that’s the foundation.

Around this, and much more, we need consensus on long-term economic policy. Worth a special mention in that context is the Economic Chamber’s initiative for a Declaration signed by all social stakeholders, educational institutions and private businesses, political parties included.

Now, having let the dust settle on a number of topics that have kept us in a fog, it’s worth turning our attention to more clearly see the paths that have opened up. One of them leads toward strong regional partnerships. As a driving force and promoter of EU integration for the Western Balkans, take Greece, for example - in 2022 alone it managed to attract close to €2 billion in foreign investment into local real estate alone! And that in a year when its real GDP sat at 2001 levels, still very far from the peak it hit in 2008. So the future isn’t exactly bleak for our perpetually sunny neighbors - let’s see if some of that magic can rub off on us too, by finding shared interests and goals.

Just like in the real ocean, in the ocean of business small fish often swim with the sharks, finding safety and a way to sustain themselves. Though it carries risk, that kind of “alliance” offers major opportunities for growth and survival that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.

It’s clear. The future of Macedonian business lies in embracing change and charting new paths. We have what it takes - but it’s high time we actually used our potential, both demographically and geographically.