By Amra Tabaković and Irma Ahmetspahic, Raiffeisen Bank in Bosnia and Herzegovina As in most countries, small and medium-sized companies play an important role in the economic growth of Bosnia and Herzegovina and are essential for creating new jobs. But overcoming obstacles and starting a solid business is never easy. Begex doo Hadžići, a kitchen […]
By Nemanja Naunović, Raiffeisen banka in Serbia | Sport plays an important role in Serbia, with football and basketball being the most popular. There is even a funny expression: “every Serb is a national team head coach”, be it football basketball, volleyball, water polo, handball or any other sport in which the nation has had […]
By Tibor Lörincz, Tatra banka | In recent years, Slovakia has earned the reputation of an automobile powerhouse. Looking at the number of cars produced per capita, it has a clear edge over other countries. However, Slovakia is more than just a country of car plants. A new economic sector of shared service centers has […]
By Alexandra Jocham, RBI | The Austrian economic delegate in Zagreb, Sonja Holocher-Ertl, spoke with Discover CEE about interesting business locations in Croatia, gave first-hand tips for doing business and how to escape crowded beaches in summer. Ms. Holocher-Ertl, what is it that makes Croatia attractive for investors? Croatia is the youngest EU member country, […]
By Alexandra Jocham, RBI | Discover CEE talked with Gerd Bommer, Austrian economic delegate in Bucharest, about the attractiveness of Romania for investors, interesting business locations and first-hand tips for doing business. Mr. Bommer, what makes Romania attractive for investors? Romania is an economy with a relatively strong and big domestic market, which is the main […]
By Carmen Dimitruc and Anca Hasegan, Raiffeisen Bank, Romania | Steven van Groningen, Raiffeisen Bank’s CEO for the past 17 years, is Dutch but calls Romania his home. He has become used to the way of thinking and feeling Romanian, although he has retained a healthy dose of “Western awareness” which helps him identify balanced […]
By Veronika Nováková, Raiffeisenbank a.s. Czech Republic | Martin Stotter certainly isn’t hesitant about crossing borders to accept an attractive job offer. It’s quite the opposite. As a board member of Czech Raiffeisenbank, a member of the RBI Group, he has already been working abroad for several years. His journey began in the banking sector […]
By Darya Shakuro, Priorbank Belarus | A light Austrian breakfast with bread and jam, strenuous work with banking risks, a lunch with lard, running after a working day and an evening with a book by Stephen Hawking. Bernd Rozenberg, board member of Priorbank, told us about his daily routine and life in Belarus as an […]
By Christof Danz, RBI | The rise of Vienna to a modern cosmopolitan city at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century is inseparably linked with its Jewish community. Important Jewish writers, artists and scientists such as Gustav Mahler, Arthur Schnitzler, Sigmund Freud or Arnold Schönberg, to name but a few, […]
By Katja Fiedler, RBI | Florian Gschwandtner, co-founder of the fitness app Runtastic, talks about creating motivation out of an investor’s “no”, being an investor himself now and how to learn from setbacks. Mr. Gschwandtner, you are one of Austria’s most successful start-up founders. In retrospect, what was the biggest challenge in founding Runtastic? The […]
By Andreas Ecker, RBI | The Vienna State Opera is the musical business card of Austria and one of the most important opera houses in the world. It stands for outstanding artistic achievements and tradition as well as innovation. The Frenchman Dominique Meyer has been the director of the renowned opera house since 2010. He […]
By Anja Knass, RBI | Dr. Claudia Witzemann is the Managing Director of weXelerate – Austria’s leading start-up and innovation hub. We talked with her about the Austrian start-up ecosystem, the importance of disruption and Austria’s role as a bridge between East and West. weXelerate is Austria’s largest start-up hub and located in the center […]