The first International Business Fair and Conference 100 EXPO was officially opened in Sarajevo today, an event that brought together almost 300 exhibitors from six countries in the region – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro and Albania, as well as companies from Germany and India – in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the next two days, Hotel Hills will be the center of business meetings, investment opportunities and B2B networking, as part of the traditional project “100 largest in BiH and the region”, which is implemented by Poslovne novine from Sarajevo.
The ceremonial opening of the fair was held in the presence of numerous officials, representatives of institutions and the business community. The project is held under the high patronage of the member of the BiH Presidency, dr. Denis Bećirović, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia as a partner country, the President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Lidija Bradara, the Federal Ministry of Development, Entrepreneurship and Crafts and the Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of Srpska.
The director of Poslovni novini jointly cut the ribbon for the opening of the fair Emil Kuckovic; Ahmet Egrlicpresident of the Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH, which is a co-organizer; Lidija BradarPresident of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Adnan DelicMinister of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Policy; Jozo Bejićsecretary of the Federal Ministry of Development, Entrepreneurship and Crafts; Nihad UkPrime Minister of Sarajevo Canton and Marko Čadežpresident of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.
She opened the conference part of 100 EXPO Alena Ahmetspahić – FočoDirector of the Project. That today’s meeting has a special significance because it promotes two extremely important topics – investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina and responsible, sustainable business which is based on ESG principles, she emphasized prof. Ph.D. Hatidza Jahicadviser for economic issues in the cabinet of the member of the BiH Presidency Ph.D. Denis Bećirović. Those two areas are not only economic topics, but pillars of the long-term development and European future of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The first panel, entitled “Invest in B&H”, was preceded by a presentation Dina Selimovićadviser in the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The panel discussed: Marko Kubatlijadirector of FIPA BiH, Ahmet Egrlicpresident of the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Marko Cadez, president of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Aleksandar Ljubojadirector of the Banja Luka Regional Chamber of Commerce, Laila KapoorDirector of the Credit Sector of the Development Bank of FBiH i Elvedin Lagarijadirector of the Sarajevo Canton Fund for the construction of apartments.
The participants emphasized the importance of investment cooperation, easier access to regional markets and strengthening institutional support for investors.
Minister of Transportation of Sarajevo Canton Adnan Too bad presented key investment projects that contribute to the modernization and improvement of traffic infrastructure in Sarajevo Canton
Introducer for the second panel Vilma Tunjić Juzbasic, the director of Mozaik ESG Solutions presented The first digital B2B platform for the exchange of secondary raw materials in BiH.
The second panel, “ESG: Leaders of Sustainable Development”, brought together representatives of leading companies that incorporate the principles of sustainable development into their business strategies: Mirza Ustamujićdirector of Energoinvest; Suzana Sikimićexecutive director of NELT BiH; Lana BarkovicBusiness to Business Manager at JYSK; Melissa Amidzicexecutive director for economic and financial affairs at Heidelberg Materials Cement BiH and Tijana Kolaković from the Center for Digital Transformation of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.
The discussion opened up key questions about the implementation of ESG standards in practice, the role of companies in the energy transition, and the economic value of sustainable business models.
The third program segment was “Fireside Chat powered by Coca-Cola HBC BH”, in which they talked Dimitris Rompisgeneral manager of Coca-Cola HBC Adria and Maša MarkovićHead of Industry at Sarajevo Film Festival. The inspiring conversation highlighted the importance of partnerships between the private and public sectors, social responsibility and the role of business in the development of the creative economy and green initiatives.
The conference was also an opportunity to award awards for fast growing companies within the project “ADRIA 1000 – Fastest Growing Companies”which Poslovne novine has been implementing for eight years with the aim of promoting the companies they own Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) greater than 10%. These awards recognize companies that achieve outstanding results in challenging times thanks to vision, courage and investment in people and innovation. This year’s winners are: Bobica Project and Verbosari from CroatiaYafi Filtertech and Technogama from Serbiayou Q. Trade and E&M-BHPAL from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
After the conference part, B2B talks continued, with the support of BNI Adria, the official networking partner of the fair. During the previous months, the participants had the opportunity to schedule meetings in advance through the B2B application 100 EXPO (www.100expo.ba/b2b), exchange contacts and explore possibilities of cooperation, and at the fair only concretize the agreements.
Exhibitors used the fair as an opportunity to directly exchange experiences and present their best solutions. The goal of these meetings is to turn concrete ideas and conversations into new projects, investments and partnerships that will further strengthen regional business cooperation.
The atmosphere of the fair confirmed the justification and need for such an economic event.
The fair continues today until 17:00.
On Wednesday, October 22, the fair opens its doors at 9:00 a.m. and will last until 4:00 p.m. Today, the “100 largest in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region” ceremony is on the agenda, starting at 7:30 p.m., at which awards will be given to the first-placed companies in terms of revenue, export, profit and number of employees.
