Specific Support to Montenegro - Towards Entrepreneurial Innovation Ecosystems in Montenegro.
The Specific Support to Montenegro provides external advice and operational recommendations on how the country could develop its entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem. Specifically, the expert panel will provide advice on the necessary legislative changes, the design of a functional entrepreneurial innovation and startup support ecosystem model and the necessary funding schemes for startups and other actors of the ecosystem.
Reports

The PSF Specific Support for Montenegro was carried out by a panel of independent European R&I policy experts from June 2018 to March 2019. This final report aims at providing tailored advice and concrete recommendations to help the Montenegrin government to develop its entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem by overcoming legislative barriers, developing funding and other related mechanisms and, overall, by enhancing governance and connectivity.

Montenegro is a young state in the Western Balkans with a population of 624,000. Over a period of 15 years, the country has managed to establish its democratic institutions, build good relations with its neighbours and embark on a process of accession to the European Union. The government is now developing regulations, policies and funding schemes to foster and internationalise its nascent entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem. To achieve this, it called on the Policy Support Facility (PSF).

This is the Montenegrin translation of the executive summary of the Final Report of the Specific Support to Montenegro.

The objective of the PSF Specific Support to Montenegro, carried out by a panel of independent European Research and Innovation policy experts, is to provide tailored advice and concrete recommendations to help the Montenegrin government in three areas:
- Creating an entrepreneurial and start-up friendly environment by addressing legislative barriers
- Setting up funding schemes for start-ups
- Developing a proposal for an organisational model for a functional entrepreneurial innovation and start-up ecosystem

This background report aims to provide information on the economic situation, the state of affairs in research and development as well as innovation, and more specifically, on the business environment for SMEs and start-ups in Montenegro. The material was gathered from various available reports, statistics, other projects and studies. It has been prepared to facilitate further research into the key issues covered by this PSF Specific Support exercise.
Events
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Specific Support to Montenegro: Kick-off meeting
The kick-off meeting launched the support requested by Montenegro. During the meeting the panel of experts meet the representatives of Montenegro and discussed their policy objectives regarding the development of the startup ecosystem in the country and their expectations from the project. The PSF team includes independent European R&I policy experts from Poland, Slovenia, Finland, France.
Bruxelles DG RTD
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Specific support to Montenegro: first country visit – fact finding on the local start-up developments
The first facts finding country visit to Montenegro took place on 25-27 July 2018. During the mission, the PSF Panel met the Montenegrin authorities and representatives of startup, business and research community, SME support intermediaries, and other relevant stakeholders.
Podgorica, Montenegro Ministry of Science of Montenegro
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Specific support to Montenegro: second country visit – validating recommendations for entrepreneurship developments
During this second PSF expert mission to Montenegro, the experts again met local stakeholders to follow up on their discussions during the first visit. Having gained insights on the gaps and barriers preventing a healthy ecosystem for innovative entrepreneurs, they presented their recommendations to address the challenges faced by local enterprises in initiating innovative business projects.
Podgorica, Montenegro DG Research and Innovation - Unit A4
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Specific Support to Montenegro: final event – presentation of the final report
During the final event, the expert panel presented the policy messages resulting from the study and the report “Towards Entrepreneurial Innovation Ecosystems in Montenegro”. The expected audience was local public agencies involved in promoting entrepreneurship, research, and innovation community from universities, businesses, and incubators, as well as stakeholders from the finance sector. The event was organised by the Ministry of Science and supported by the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Economy. The representatives of the European Commission also attended the event.
Podgorica, Montenegro. The Ministry of Science of MNE