USAID and the Centar Municipality opened the 8th Business Forum of the BiH diaspora “BHdiaFor 2023” last night in Villa Braun in Sarajevo.

It is a platform that brings together investors, entrepreneurs, experts, and decision-makers to discuss opportunities and challenges in the diaspora, as well as the improvement of economic cooperation.
The Mayor of Centar Sarajevo Municipality, Srđan Mandić, said at the opening that this local community, in accordance with its competences, wants to be a partner to entrepreneurs.
“People from diaspora are very significant to us and we know that a great part of BiH’s GDP is still their donations, but we want more specific investments as well,” said Mandić.
Director of the Economic Department of USAID in BiH, Karl Wurster, said that Centar Municipality can boast of the largest number of investments from the diaspora in BiH and at the same time represents the resilience of people living in BiH and the permanent ties that connect the country with the rest of the world.
Prime Minister of the Sarajevo Canton Nihad Uk underlined that investors from the diaspora are the “light at the end of the tunnel” for BiH because of how they contribute to BiH market and the development of small and medium enterprises in recent years.
It was emphasized that the central theme of this year’s forum is the opportunities and challenges of investing in BiH.
Participants will have the opportunity to explore how to better connect with the market, overcome obstacles and maximize return on investment through panel discussions and workshops.
An emphasis will also be placed on strengthening economic cooperation with the diaspora to improve bilateral trade relations and open new partnership opportunities.