3rd LSEE Research Network Conference Social Cohesion and Economic Governance Skopje 2017
Entrepreneurial ability of graduates in Kosovo
Bekim Syla PhD cand.
European University of Tirana
Abstract
Graduated Kosovar’ entrepreneurs face challenges which are not easy to overcome. The
painful feeling of extinction is in itself the quality of education acquired during their studies.
 This paper tries to give answer of two questions that posed upon the completion of the
Master studies where entrepreneurship is one of the core modules, where the graduate put the
skill that benefits as a graduated entrepreneur from these institutions to start a journey as an
entrepreneur and the practical challenges on market share.
 Respondents have been interviewed in the main areas of: Educational, Gender and
Demographic aspects of which they have raised issues regarding the financing of young
entrepreneurs and minorities, and especially gender related challenges of young educated
entrepreneurs.
Key words: Entrepreneurship, Education, Acquired skills, Competition ability, Finances,
Female entrepreneurs, Minority entrepreneurs.
Introduction
 Low turnover.
 Highest interest rates for borrowing in the region,
 high informality and corruption…then, this reduces the possibility of
developing the entrepreneurial skills.
 The graduates are mainly the entrepreneurs of micro, small and
medium size enterprises, which in most cases continue the family
inherited business,
 except in the health sector, and the most innovative
entrepreneurs are the graduates in the field of civic
engineering, even though their number is very small.
‘’Me too” graduates’ entrepreneurial
activity
The entrepreneur’s ability is to do what you feel, to be
educated in that regard and then to put in use the
education with passion. However in Kosovo occurs the
opposite, mainly by copying others’ ideas such as “me
too” rather than identifying yourself with something
new, and this increases the possibility of failure leading
to despair and suppression.
Registered entrepreneurs.
Knowing the fact that Kosovo has the youngest population in the region,
with 60% under the age of 35, it has the highest unemployment rate in the
region, from 1.8 Mil. Inhabitants (KAS, 2015). Kosovo has 180.000
(KBRA)registered businesses where more than 80% are small and
medium size enterprises, which operate mainly in the trade industry; in
addition Kosovo has the highest imbalance of import-export (approx. for
every exported Euro, we import 23.7 Euros) (CBK).
http://ask.rks-gov.net/media/2119/vleresim-popullsia-e-kosoves-2015.pdf page 5-9 - Last accessed on 06.03.2017
http://arbk.rks-gov.net/desk/inc/media/257488C8-8A56-4C4F-B3EE-7982ACBFF1EC.pdf page 21-29 - Last accessed on 03.03.2017
http://bqk-kos.org/repository/docs/2012/RBP_nr%2011.pdf page 19-31 - Last accessed on 05.03.2017
Statistics of students
Level
Bachelor
Master
Students Statistics 2014/2015
Public University
Private Institutions
Female Male
RAE Female Male RAE
22344 18039 18
5723 6749
0
4493
2947
1212 1376
0
25000
20000
15000
Bachelor
10000
Master
5000
0
Female
Male
Public University
RAE
Female
Male
Private Institutions
Source: Education Statistics in Kosovo MEST[1]2016
RAE
Continues…
Public
Universi
Private
ty
Bachelor
Master
Graduated
Public
Female Male RAE
2962 1965
1
558
540
0
Private
Female Male RAE
2640 2576
0
247
399
0
Male
Master
Bachelor
RAE
Female
0
500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
Source: Education Statistics in Kosovo MEST[1]2016
[1]http://masht.rks-gov.net/uploads/2016/08/statistikat-e-arsimit-ne-kosove-shq.pdf
page 89-116- Last accessed on 05.03.2017
Statistical employment data
If according to[1] (KAS 2011), there are 140,946[2]active enterprises out of 300,000
registered enterprises (IBK,2016), and with the high informality rate up to 35%[3] (FESPrishtina), in Kosovo every year are registered approx. 90,000 new enterprises [4]
(TAK,2016), and according to KAS 2016,… “The unemployment rate in Kosovo reached
32.9%, whereas the employment rate 25.2%. The unemployment is more spread among
women with 36.6 %, comparing to men with 31.8%.
employment
Unemployment
7.10%
15-24
36.20%
57.70%
35-44
45+
Production
14.7%
Trade
14.4%
Education
12.1%
Construction
9.5%
Source: Kosovo Agency of statistics (KAS,2016).
*RAE is represented with under 0.5% of enterprises in Kosovo,
Employment Rates and Educational Attainment % by Gender
 As we see from the figure below, female employed is under percentage of men but
with continuing education with graduated degree it overpasses men with the same
level of education approximately 10% at the master degree. This shows that, the
education for females is the instrument to become an employed person but not
necessary being entrepreneur
Source:Kosovo LFC.2009[1]
Gender Business Ownership
Partnership or Co-ownership
Source: Basics performance indicators of registering business in Kosovo
 In order to calculate the increasing trend of women participants and the findings show that
18-21% of entrepreneurs are graduated, this report is too narrow comparing it with men since
only 38.35% of men entrepreneurs are graduated, so the participation of men is lower in
comparison with women who also have a low participation but with higher number of
graduates as a whole.
Adapting to the Market
 The graduates adapt to the market the entrepreneurial skills acquired during
their studies. Nowadays in Kosovo, there are more entrepreneurs who have not
studied entrepreneurship, but they are very successful entrepreneurs, such as: in
the field of Health, Jurisprudence and Civic Engineering.
 Whereas those who have studied entrepreneurship, approximately 23% of
them are developing their entrepreneurial skills mainly in the field of services,
such as: accountants, financial advisors, etc
The graduates’ barriers to enter the market
The graduates face challenges of applying into practice the methods they have learnt during their studies,
despite this, for female entrepreneurs traditionally there was a prejudice that they are weaker in taking
reasonable decisions as entrepreneurs, from the biological aspect, however even the RAE community faces
difficulties to enter the market due to the market prejudice.
 16% of the interviewed men consider trade and competition as the entrepreneur’s determinant
of success, whereas 73% consider the financial aspect as the key aspect in absorbing skills to
overcome any obstacles.
 The women consider the prejudice and tradition as the main barrier/obstacle of the
entrepreneur’s ability. They say that the graduated woman who can have access in finance
initially must overcome the idea of being “privileged” in the market. 47% consider the gender as
an obstacle, 26% consider the finance, whereas less than 8% consider the competition.
 From RAE community, the main challenges in order to be a successful entrepreneur are
finance and the entrepreneur’s personality in the community (RAE community). 85% consider the
finance and only 11% consider the educational level as determinant of the entrepreneur’s ability,
however even the location of the enterprise is of much interest for them.
Conclusions
 The participation of graduates as entrepreneurs in the market have not given the desired impact regardless of the
efforts it is still unvalued in Kosovo. However, the trend of advancing the entrepreneurs’ abilities is higher with the
entrepreneurs who intend to study entrepreneurship, mainly at private colleges.
 The graduates mostly own small and medium size enterprises and a very symbolic number own large enterprises,
compared with the large number of graduates, the existence of graduates is negligible.
 The most entrepreneurs who are prone to innovation and advancement are very few among the graduates regardless of
the knowledge they possess; it is still about their undisclosed entrepreneur’s spirit to be able to master the market in which
they operate.
 It is still unknown how this happens knowing that Kosovo actually has the highest rate of unemployment, it has the
youngest population under 35 years old and it has so many graduates, and it cannot manage to systemize under the
entrepreneurial umbrella the graduates so they can generate incomes for themselves and their families.
Continues..
 Women graduates prefer to have a stable job rather than entering into the field of
developing their career as entrepreneurs, and a reason behind this is the tradition and the
biological aspect of commitment towards the family, especially women with children who
dedicate their time to the children and find themselves more comfortable as employees
rather than entrepreneurs.
 The position of communities is not determined by their ethnicity, and their opportunity
and access to the education is still not at the desired level. Therefore, the goal of those who
are being educated is to find a job in government level, both central and local, and this goal
reduces the entrepreneurial ability of this community which is anyway less educated.
Recommendations
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
In order to have more information about educational entrepreneurs
background the Application file it is recommended to Adding to the
BRA registration form a column with the education details of the
enterprise owner,
It is recommended that: MTI has to do more to inform the graduates
about the opening and operating procedures of a business in Kosovo,
From the institutional shareholders it is recommended to support
female entrepreneurs with professional, financial advice and assistance
on market analysis before establishing a business,
Strongly recommended to establish within MTI the strategic investment
and investors’ center,
Also, releasing from tax payment for at least two years women and RAE
community entrepreneurs who hire 5 of more employees,
Continues..
A.
Therefore it is recommended introducing the entrepreneurship as a
subject in the faculties which are producing graduated entrepreneurs,
such as the medicine, civic engineering and jurisprudence.
A.
Recommended combating informality and possibility of corruption of
the tax collectors and bodies operating in the field of taxation.
A.
It is recommended enabling the preferential positions in the
demographic units to the women entrepreneurs versus men
entrepreneurs.
And showing care for communities’ entrepreneurs, it is recommended
to encourage by the state budget the graduated entrepreneurs from
RAE community, as well as to subsidize them if this can increase the
number of graduates and entrepreneur from this community.
B.
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Thank you!!!