By Christine Würfel, RBI | The European Commission´s Green Deal aims to make Europe the first climate neutral continent by 2050. Several measures are already and will be introduced ranging from effective carbon pricing, clean energy, mobilizing industry for a clean and circular economy, energy efficiency in buildings, an environmentally friendly food system or the […]
Are you planning a business trip to the CEE region? Or would you like to know on which dates your business partner in CEE is on public holidays? The Discover CEE Public Holidays 2020 overview shows all the dates at one glance. Wherever you travel from, when planning a trip to the CEE region, also […]
By Anila Hoxha, Raiffeisen Bank in Albania | In the past few years, Albania has been experiencing an emerging startup ecosystem. Nevertheless, most of the country’s startups are still in the early stages of seed financing. Lately, however, many private and public players have expressed their interest in funding startups usually in the field of […]
By Klarida Rrogozi, Raiffeisen Bank in Albania | Samir Mane, president of the Balfin Group, the largest and most innovative investment group in Albania and among the largest in the Western Balkans, was originally born in Korça. The old and traditional city in southeast Albania was primarily a center of trade, before the communist regime […]
By Bojidar Gyurov, Raiffeisen Bank in Bulgaria | What is a foreigners’ idea of Bulgaria? How can Bulgaria pleasantly surprise them? Would they come to work here? How is the business environment in Bulgaria changing? How can Bulgaria attract foreign investments? While we were trying to find the answers to these challenging questions, our paths […]
By Eleonora Georgieva, Raiffeisen Bank in Bulgaria | Well-being. Improving the health of all is one of the main goals of the United Nations for the next 10 years. The organization’s current set of sustainable development goals include ensuring a healthy life and the promotion of well-being for everyone. And as we all know, food […]
By Stoyan Genov, Raiffeisen Bank in Bulgaria | A centuries-old history, traditions and great ambitions. These are the key features of the Bulgarian wine business. Along with production for local and traditional markets, and entry into new international markets, a number of boutique wineries have been trying to bring Bulgaria’s wine culture to an even […]
By Stoyan Genov, Raiffeisen Bank in Bulgaria | What could five towns in Southeast European with a population of fewer than 50,000 people have in common? Obviously, the small population… But how about global business leadership? Yes, it’s actually possible. The Bulgarian towns Letnitsa (population: 5,000), Bozhuriste (8,000), Lozen (6,000), Montana (50,000) and Vidin (40,000) […]
By Stoyan Genov, Raiffeisen Bank in Bulgaria | “One of the fastest growing fintech destinations in the CEE Region”; “An evolving fintech hub”; “The most vibrant fintech destination in the SEE region”. You can often hear or read these definitions of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Trust us, this is not an overstatement. Behind these […]
By Katja Fiedler, Raiffeisen Bank International AG | The participants of the third round of Raiffeisen Bank International’s (RBI) fintech partnership program Elevator Lab were announced on the Finalists Day in mid-October. The six chosen fintech startups will get valuable support by experts and mentors in developing unique pilot projects, so-called PoCs (Proof of Concept), […]
By Gunter Deuber and Ruslan Gadeev, RBI Vienna | The times of more radical changes and upheavals in the Russian banking sector seem to be over for now. Following years of more subdued profitability (from 2014-17) the Return on Equity (RoE) rebounded nicely in 2018 – a trend that continued in 2019. We also see […]
By Marie Mesropyan, Raiffeisenbank in Russia | Big business is still experiencing a shortage of digital banking services. Leaders of the financial industry are actively trying to solve the problem Digital banking infrastructure for business in Russia, especially for large and medium businesses, still lags behind the mass retail segment, experts say. “In general, development […]