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GEM National Team for Macedonia

Macedonian Enterprise Development Foundation (MEDF)

Tetjana Lazarevska, MEDF’s Executive Director;
Lazar Nedanoski
Gligor Mihailovski

Business Start-Up Center (BSC) at the Mechanical Faculty, “SS. Cyril and Methodius” University in Skopje

PhD Radmil Polenakovic, Head of BSC
Aleksandar  Kjurciev
Bojan Jovanovski
Trajche Velkovski
Bojan Jovanoski

Indicators of entrepreneurial activity

Since in 2008 was the first time Macedonia was a part of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor project (GEM), there was no possibility to make comparisons with previous years.  Still, Macedonia has the TEA index (Total Early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity) of 14.5 % that is above the world average of 10.2% in 2008. Entrepreneurs in the nascent phase amount 7.5%, while entrepreneurs with new businesses count 7.4%. Men are more likely to be entrepreneurs then women, having 70.3% male and 29.7% women entrepreneurs. Almost 11% of the examinees are owners of already established businesses. Economic necessity as the main motivation factor for entrepreneurial activities is stated by 48.9% persons compared to 51.1% of those who had opportunity as a motivation; moreover, in Macedonia opportunity entrepreneurship is driven three times more by desire for independence then a will to increase an income.  Eighteen percent of all firms expect growth in the next 5 years.

Development of entrepreneurial activities

Statistical data available for 2007 show the increase of entrepreneurial activities in Macedonia. Number of entrepreneurships in the country was 90,104, including 10,262 of newly registered (that is 11%). Increase of number of entrepreneurships of 10% in 2007 compared to 2006 indicates rising of entrepreneurial activities of small businesses.

Special indicators

Despite numerous political, economical and social reforms, postponing of the full membership in EU and NATO, as well as global financial crisis, macro-economy remains stable in Macedonia. Macedonia (according to World Bank, Report on Doing Business 2008) if one of four best reformers, the title got because of abolished paid-in minimum capital requirement, shortening the time for building authorizations,  reduction of  corporate income tax and simplified procedures for paying taxes. In 2009, Macedonia jumped in the top 12 ranked countries in terms of starting a business, once it was ranked 23 in the previous year (according the World Bank, Report on Doing Business 2009).

Current issues

The Government has implemented “regulatory guillotine” which aims to support businesses trough the introduction of flat tax and additional tax breaks, such as reducing income and profit tax of 10% from January 2008. One-stop shop for starting businesses reduced the required waiting time to 9 days. However, there are still some challenges for Macedonia, for example regarding the procedures for closing businesses.

With the introduction of export facilities and reforms in the State cadastre, the Central Registry and Customs, was made additional effort to facilitate further regulations for businesses.

At the same time with increase of public expenditure for education,  as a mandatory was made the subject “Entrepreneurship and business” that should have a positive influence on business abilities of future youth entrepreneurs.

The Government developed and declared The Program for developing entrepreneurship, competition and innovations of small and middle sized companies 2007-2010, as a strategic document which aims to improve general business framework in the following period.