The framework Human Capital Development
Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship
By 2030, a connected innovation ecosystem turns ideas into growth finance and keeps digital talent in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Contributes to CPD outcome: Human Capital Development
The reality and the drivers
Where we start
Patchy and uneven ecosystem
The digital innovation and entrepreneurship system is shaped by BiH's complex, asymmetrical governance, which makes policy coherence and standards hard to align across levels and territories. This translates into different rules, instruments, and capacities across FBiH cantons, RS, and Brčko, and weak scaling of good practices.
Support structures concentrated and not yet "systemic"
There are real building blocks (technology parks, hubs, accelerators, incubators, STEM and entrepreneurship initiatives), but they are still mostly city-centric and project- or donor-driven rather than fully institutionalized and provided entity- or nation-wide. Fully connected pipelines from ideas → incubation → growth finance do not exist.
Finance and scale gaps
The system relies on traditional finance and small-scale public support. Early-stage risk capital (business angels/VC) is non-existent, and financial support to digitalization is mostly dedicated to digitalization of existing processes, not innovating business models or financing startups.
Key trends shaping change
What is driving the shift
Reform Agenda under the Growth Plan
The Reform Agenda requires alignment with the acquis (digital, competition, green transition, skills) pushing BiH to modernize how it supports SMEs, innovation, and digitalization. This is visible in the Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) and the Agenda focus on startups and MSMEs in the digital sector, innovation, and access to finance.
Entrepreneurship as a youth retention strategy
Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship are gaining legitimacy as a public policy response to youth unemployment, limited wage employment, and regional disparities.
Digital adoption is faster than institutional adaptation
Citizens (especially youth and diaspora) and businesses are adopting digital faster than institutions can adapt and support. Diaspora engagement is evolving from mainly remittances and consumption toward knowledge transfer, angel investing, venture building, and short-term returns.
Our plan
What we will do, 2026-2030
6 areas of engagement where UNDP will work with partners to deliver this pillar.
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Support the development of innovation policies
Support activities aimed at improving the policy framework for innovation, building on existing legislative support.
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Strengthen Startup and Innovation Policy Coordination
Support the establishment of, or build on and connect, existing coordination bodies (e.g., the FBiH Innovation Council) to align policy dialogue on the S3 Strategy, innovation priorities, and financing mechanisms, while ensuring state-wide coherence and avoiding duplication.
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Support capacity-building and service lines design of emerging innovation and entrepreneurship facilities
Based on the support provided to the establishment of the Science and Technology Park of Republika Srpska, support the design of feasibility studies, business models and service lines for emerging facilities in the country. Specifically focus on the ability of these facilities to provide advanced business development support, export readiness, investor matchmaking (including diaspora) and regulatory guidance (IP rights, standards, EU market entry).
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Networking of Science, Technology and Innovation Hubs
Convene and technically support a formal network of such facilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to support knowledge and experience sharing.
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Strengthening entrepreneurship curriculum
Use the previous UNDP engagement in Canton Sarajevo to scale the entrepreneurship subject and high-school entrepreneurial clubs (and competition league) as proof of concept to support adaptation of the curriculum for other cantons and entities, develop teacher training packages, and integrate entrepreneurship into official education frameworks.
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Catalytic and Blended Finance for Digital Innovation
Position UNDP as a financial architect bridging the early-stage funding gap by designing blended-finance instruments that use donor/grant capital to de-risk private co-investment and support the foundations for business-angel networks and seed-stage equity matching for digital startups and SMEs.
Partner with us on this
Let's deliver Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship together
These areas are an invitation. If your organisation can co-design, co-fund or co-deliver any of them, we want to hear from you.