Kosovo has a lot of potential to build a strong and competitive automotive and high technology industry. With a successful stories in automotive and rapid growth in information technology, Kosovo is gradually becoming an important business factor in the region.

 
The origins of the automotive components industry in Kosovo date back to the 1960s, when the first large scale auto components manufacturing companies were founded.

Although these manufacturing units were primarily established to supply different parts for the production of Yugoslav vehicles, they very quickly penetrated foreign markets and cooperated with well-known European and American automotive component manufacturers.

The two best known flagships of automotive component industrialization in Kosovo were the Ramiz Sadiku, which produced primarily car seats and small vehicle parts, and the Shock Absorber Factory Prishtina, which produced shock absorbers for various well-known brands such as British Armstrong, German Susta as well as French Peugeot among others.

Between 1989 and 1990 the Shock Absorber Factory produced 3.3 million units each year and employed over 1,500 workers. With the loss of foreign markets as a result of political circumstances during the 1990s, the Kosovar component manufacturers were faced with immense financial problems and consequently many of them had to rethink their business philosophy in order to survive in the global market.

Although the current output of these enterprises is still considered to be low, re-established links with the traditional partners bode well for a prospective development of this sector.

The existing technology, large capacities and sufficient knowledge allow the automotive component industry to produce and support any OEM [Original Equipment Manufacturer] with parts at a competitive cost.

Furthermore, the trend of shifting production to Central and Eastern Europe makes the Kosovar automotive component industry even more interesting for investors or partners wishing to benefit from increasing opportunities in the region.

The IT sector in Kosovo, including Internet Service Providers, has seen a remarkable development since the end of the war in 1999.

From being inexistent 10 years ago, Kosovar companies in the IT sector offer today high quality services and the latest technologies to their customers both locally as well as to foreign companies who want to outsource their software development or support centres.

Kosovo has the youngest population in Europe. It is both skilled and multilingual, with English being only just short of an official language due to international administration in the last nine years. In addition, many Kosovars who have studied
abroad are now returning to Kosovo, bringing with them skills and knowhow.

Today, public and private education institutions in the IT field, supported by companies such as CISCO or Microsoft, provide education to thousands of young Kosovars while the demand for this form of training is still rising.

Be it the outsourcing of software development, data management, establishment of call and support centres or other consulting services, Kosovar companies can offer you high quality services at low costs.

Even though Kosovo has one of the highest internet user rates in the region, the demand is still much higher than the offer, providing great opportunities for foreign investors.

Kosovo has two mobile telephony operators, with over 200 million Euro investment y the Slovenian Telecom for one of them. The state-owned mobile telephony operator VALA with over 850,000 users will be available for privatization soon.

In addition, great opportunities for foreign investors are also available in fixed telephony, VoIP, cable TV, etc.

 

This report is part of a series prepared by the Economic Initiative for Kosovo (ECIKS), an organization supporting the economic development and foreign investments in Kosovo.