Women's Entrepreneurship in Former Yugoslavia

A vast of literature on entrepreneurship has been published in the recent period. However, the topic is relatively not new. Therefore, this introductory chapter explores the role and importance of entrepreneurship from a historical and contemporary perspective. Furthermore, we discuss the role of gender when it comes to entrepreneurship. Besides, we provide a discourse when it comes to the role of women in the former Yugoslavian society which was a key determinant of later women entrepreneurship movement. Finally, we emphasize the importance of this topic for former Yugoslavian states.

This chapter depicts a glance picture of women entrepreneurship in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). Followed by introductory notes of the chapter, further, it is discussed the historical overview of women entrepreneurship, the current state of the women entrepreneurship in the country, as well as the entrepreneurial ecosystem of entrepreneurship pertaining to women. In a nutshell, final words are provided in this chapter.

This chapter is dedicated to women entrepreneurship in the Republic of Croatia. Considered from a historical perspective or its current challenges, women entrepreneurship distinguishes itself as a vital part of the national economy. On their path to becoming entrepreneurs, women are faced with numerous obstacles and are motivated by various factors. By discovering and committing to analyze these problems and motivations, we are able to provide support programs, which will be effective in further developing women entrepreneurship.

This chapter offers insights into women entrepreneurship in the Republic of Kosovo. The chapter initially provides the historical and demographic overview of Kosovo. The study continues by presenting the current state of women entrepreneurship through the available data. Further government policies for women entrepreneurship promotion followed by the local and international organizations that support women entrepreneurship are discussed. And, in the end, the chapter takes a look at the development of women entrepreneurship in the future.

This chapter gives an overview of women entrepreneurship in Montenegro. The chapter starts with offering a historical summary of a woman’s role in Montenegro, which serves as the basis for further analysis of the development of women entrepreneurship. It further analyzes demographic indicators, as well asobstacles and challenges which are relevant for the development of women entrepreneurship. The analysis shows that women entrepreneurship is a concept that is more used in Montenegrin economic theory, but it is hardly present in everyday life. Besides, there are no precise details on participation of women entrepreneurship in economy. A significant segment of the chapter is analysis of business environment and institutional support in the function of development of women entrepreneurship, with a special overview of the role of the strategy of the development of women entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial activity brings employment, economic growth, and wealth and represents an essential component of the advanced economy. On the other hand, it is a fact that the participation of women in creating politics in Montenegro is insufficient, i.e., a relatively small number of women are present in the leading positions and positions for decision-making. The chapter finishes with offering recommendations and guidelines for future development of women entrepreneurship in Montenegro. In that sense, a key element for increasing women entrepreneurial activity is multiple support to greater number of women to get involved in the business. Women entrepreneurship in economically less developed countries helps women to avoid the trap of poverty. Additionally, women entrepreneurship breaks entrepreneurial stereotypes which are rooted in society for a long time.

This chapter provides insights into women entrepreneurship in the Republic of North Macedonia. The chapter begins with an overview of North Macedonia and then presents an evidence-based current state of women entrepreneurship. The chapter continues with government and other policies, initiatives, and activities for facilitating women entrepreneurship. In the end, an outlook toward the development of women entrepreneurship in the future is presented.

The position of women in Serbia on the labor market is very unfavorable, so they represent a traditionally discriminated social group. One way to improve the position of women in society in Serbia is to encourage self-employment and the development of women entrepreneurship. Many measures have been implemented in order to develop women entrepreneurship in Serbia. This has led to the development of women entrepreneurship in Serbia, but it is developing very slowly, due to the influence of several factors. The subject of this chapter was to explain the genesis of the development of women entrepreneurship in Serbia and to analyze the limiting and incentive influencing factors of the development of women entrepreneurship in Serbia. Our research has shown that motives that have a significant impact on women in Serbia to start their own business are the need for higher earnings, necessity (unemployment), need for independence in work and autonomy, childcare, and need to provide a better future for the children. The key restrictions on women entrepreneurship in Serbia are lack of one’s own capital, lack of managerial knowledge and experience, lack of knowledge of the nature of business, childcare, and responsibilities in the home and the family.

This chapter focuses on women entrepreneurship in Slovenia. The importance of women entrepreneurs is discussed. Their characteristics are described. Results of a survey on characteristics of women and men entrepreneurs are reported. The results give an answer to the research question: what are characteristics of women entrepreneurs in Slovenia? The study focused on some characteristics of women’s entrepreneurs, predominantly demographic and sociological. We contributed to knowledge about women entrepreneurship by providing some new insights on the characteristics of women entrepreneurs. Women entrepreneurs tended to be educated with work experience, and they have an important impact on the Slovenian economy.

This chapter comprehends briefly women’s entrepreneurship, and it gives a concise and understandable review of each chapter’s material. In this chapter, all ex-Yugoslavian countries are revised separately in terms of women’s entrepreneurship, its status, and its future perspectives. Additionally, authors provided the final words on this topic with an extension of possible steps recommended as the future research.