It was opened today with a ceremonial ribbon cutting at Hotel Hills in Sarajevo Women 100 Shop & Show Expothe first international fair dedicated to women in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The event brought together more than 100 exhibitors and over 200 brands from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region, confirming on the first day that there is a great need for a platform that connects entrepreneurs, companies, institutions and citizens.
They organize the fair Business newspaper within the project “Women in Business”, which this year marks 15 years of successful activities in the promotion of female entrepreneurship, economic empowerment of women and affirmation of their business success.
They gave support to this project and event The Government of Sarajevo Canton, the Ministry of Economy of Sarajevo Canton, as well as the President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Lidija Bradara, UN Women and the Tourist Board of Sarajevo Cantonconfirming the importance of female entrepreneurship as one of the important drivers of economic development in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
During the two days of the fair, visitors have the opportunity to meet domestic and international brands, attend panel discussions and workshops, make new business contacts and meet inspiring women who, through their work, are changing the business and social image of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Women 100 Shop & Show Expo was officially opened President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Lidija Bradara, Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Economy of Sarajevo Canton Dr. Zlatan Mujak, representative of UN Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina Jo-Anne Bishop, executive director of Poslovni novina Slađana Kučković and project director of Poslovni novina Alena Ahmetspahić-Fočo.
Addressing the audience, the executive director of Poslovni novini Slađana Kucković she pointed out that Women 100 represents a new step in the development of the Women in Business project.
“Fifteen years ago, we started with the idea to make successful women more visible and to show how much they contribute to the development of the economy and society. Today we are opening the first international fair for women in Bosnia and Herzegovina and we are proud to have created a platform where female entrepreneurs can present their products, services, ideas and successes. Women 100 is not just a fair, but a place of new opportunities, partnerships and inspiration for future generations of women.” Kuckovic said.
Director of Poslovni novini projects Alena Ahmetspahić-Fočo she emphasized that the goal of the fair is to connect women from different sectors and open up space for new acquaintances and business opportunities, and stated:
“We wanted to create an event that will be useful for exhibitors, inspiring for visitors and important for the development of female entrepreneurship. The large number of exhibitors and visitors already on the first day shows that Bosnia and Herzegovina needed such an event. Women 100 gathers women who create, lead, innovate and inspire others to follow their examples.”
President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Lidija Bradar, she gave her support to this event and emphasized the importance of institutional support for entrepreneurship and projects that contribute to the economic empowerment of women, saying:
“Any connection and promotion when it comes to entrepreneurship is welcome. The Poslovni novina team always has excellent ideas and projects, and this time I am especially happy to support women entrepreneurs. I think that society will have multiple benefits from the increasing development of so-called female entrepreneurship, and it is up to the institutions to follow these trends.”
The Assistant Minister of Economy of Sarajevo Canton spoke about concrete support measures dr. Zlatan Mujakfrom the Sector for Entrepreneurship, Investments, Hospitality and Trade, emphasizing that the development of women’s entrepreneurship remains one of the institutions’ priorities.
“The Ministry of Economy of Sarajevo Canton has published a Public Call for the promotion of women’s entrepreneurship in 2026. This program is intended for small business entities in the majority ownership of women, and 1,228,000 KM has been provided in the budget of Sarajevo Canton for this purpose.
Beneficiaries of the program have funds available for reimbursement of part of the costs of purchasing equipment, technological modernization, digitalization of operations, introduction and renewal of quality standards, professional development of employees, as well as lease of office space. The maximum amount of incentives per user is 50,000 KM.
In the period from 2022 to 2026, the Ministry of Economy of the Sarajevo Canton supported 245 small business entities, the majority of whose founders are women, through the women’s entrepreneurship development program.
Through all the programs implemented by this Ministry, a total of 457 small business entities in which the majority owners or responsible persons are women were supported in the mentioned period. The total number of supported subjects is 1083.
About 6.7 million marks were allocated from the budget for this purpose.
The largest number of supported entities, a total of 89, according to the structure of the classification activity, falls into the “Other service activities” category.
Representative of UN Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina Jo-Anne Bishop pointed out:
“WOMEN 100 Shop & Show Expo represents an important platform that enables women entrepreneurs to present their products and services, expand business networks, and access new markets. The economic empowerment of women is at the very center of UN Women’s mandate, because the success of women in entrepreneurship and business contributes to the development of local communities and the strengthening of the economy as a whole. Through partnerships like this, UN Women continues to support women entrepreneurs and promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth.”
A special part of the program is expected tonight, when the awarding ceremony will be held Women 100
Impact Awardswith which Poslovne novine marks 15 years of the “Women in Business” project and recognizes women who, through their work, leadership, innovation and social involvement, have an exceptional impact on the development of the economy and the community.
The Women 100 Shop & Show Expo is open to visitors today until 4 p.m. and tomorrow, June 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hills Hotel, and admission is free for all citizens.
