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22 I Companies & Markets bne November 2023
Low prices make Southeast Europe top
destination for digital nomads
Valentina Dimitrievska in Skopje
Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, has earned the title of the top European city for digital nomads, followed by Sarajevo and Chisinau, according to UK magazine Time Out.
As the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way people work and travel, many now work from home, and some remotely from different countries. This has become a new way of life.
Travel experts at Norton Finance loan company evaluated 184 countries, weighing factors such as average rent, utilities, transportation, food, gym and internet costs, along with the expense of return flights from the UK.
"While it’ll of course vary depending on where in the world you’re journeying from, the rest of the factors provide a pretty compre-
hensive breakdown of the affordability of a place, and ranking at number one is Skopje in North Macedonia,” according to Time Out.
“The city is a notoriously good-value tourist destination,
popular for its archaeological sites and street food. The value of public transport is one reason why Skopje scores so well, as a monthly public transport pass is an enormous eight times cheaper than the London equivalent."
Securing the second spot on Norton Finance's list is the capital of Bosnia & Herzegovina, Sarajevo, where the average rent for a one-bedroom flat in the city centre is an affordable €275 per month.
Meanwhile, Chisinau in Moldova took the third position. In this city, a pint costs a modest €1.3, making it an attractive destination for budget-conscious digital nomads.
Sofia, Bulgaria's capital, and Bucharest, the capital of Romania, occupy the fourth and fifth positions respectively. Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, secured the sixth spot.
Copenhagen and Dublin are considered some of the least favourable European cities for digital nomads.
Tech park opens in Pristina to boost
Kosovo's ICT industry
bne IntelliNews
The Tech Park Prishtina opened in the outskirts of the Koso- van capital on October 12. The tech park is intended to further develop the ICT sector, already an important part of Kosovo’s economy, following strong growth in recent years.
The park is located in a previously unused building, spanning 4,000 square metres and owned by the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, that has been given to Kosovo Association of Information and Communication Technology (STIKK) for five years. The government of Kosovo invested €1.2mn in the project through the Ministry of Economy.
Prime Minister Albin Kurti said the opening confirms that Kosovo “is following the path of countries that use the power of information and communication technology to create jobs, to promote economic growth and to improve the quality of life for citizens”.
"The investment in this technology park shows our commitment to the development of technology and innovation
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that are the foundations of the economy of the 21st century,” said the prime minister.
The park will support the development of startups and the ICT sector in general, as well promoting cooperation among all parties within the innovation ecosystem, a government statement said.
Minister of Industry, Enterprise and Trade Rozeta Hajdari said: "the park is expected to be one of the main drivers of the development and transformation of our industry through development of innovation and entrepreneurship." Vjollca Cavolli, executive director of STIKK, said in an interview with bne IntelliNews earlier in October that there has been strong interest from startups in the tech park.
While the office space is limited to companies with up to
30 employees, Çavolli said larger companies have proposed relocating their R&D departments to the tech park where they can benefit from collaborations with startups and students.