At the core of SME competitiveness is the knowledge and skills of the workforce. This cluster examines how these are developed across the lifecycle, starting with how education systems foster entrepreneurial skills and align practical training with SME needs. It then considers how SMEs access relevant skills, leveraging skills intelligence, upskilling and reskilling, and empowering women entrepreneurs. It also explores the role of the social economy and support for social enterprise development.
SME Policy Index for Western Balkans and Türkiye 2026 – Economy Profile for Montenegro
Abstract
The world of work is undergoing profound transformation, driven by structural changes in labour markets and societies. Digital and green transitions, alongside demographic shifts, are reshaping not only how businesses operate but also the skills they require. In Montenegro, much like elsewhere around the world, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are at the forefront of this shift. Ensuring that they can adapt begins in the classroom: educational and training systems must go beyond delivering subject-specific knowledge to foster transversal skills such as adaptability, problem-solving and collaboration, while placing greater emphasis on hands-on, practical learning.
However, the pace of change in the labour market is outstripping that of education systems, with signs of strain already visible. Foundational learning outcomes are weakening: Montenegro’s latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores showed a 16-point decline in reading (compared to 11 points across the OECD) and a 24-point drop in mathematics (versus 16 points across the OECD) (OECD, 2023[1]). At the same time, employers in Montenegro report that the gap between formal qualifications and the practical competences required in the real economy is a key driver of skills mismatches, highlighting that skills developed through the education system do not fully meet businesses’ needs.1 Thus, for Montenegro’s SMEs to remain resilient and competitive, education and training systems must not only raise the quality of learning but also become more agile, equipping students with the resilience to thrive in an ever-changing world of work.
Accordingly, this section considers how the education system equips learners with entrepreneurial skills and how education and training pathways connect more effectively with SMEs to support labour market entry and firm-level skills needs.
5.1.1. Fostering entrepreneurial skills and mindsets through education
Within this broader transformation, nurturing entrepreneurial skills and mindsets among students is essential, especially as global trends indicate a growing demand for these skills, which are projected to increase by 32% in Europe alone by 2030 compared to 2016 (European Commission, 2024[2]). Yet, while entrepreneurial thinking is becoming essential for navigating the future world of work, many students in Montenegro are struggling to develop these skills: a recent survey found that 60% of respondents believe current educational initiatives in the economy do not adequately support the development of entrepreneurial skills (Matović, 2025[3]).
To address these persistent gaps in student entrepreneurial skills, Montenegro has paid sustained policy attention to building a robust system for entrepreneurial learning, particularly within the Western Balkans and Türkiye (WBT) region. Until recently, Montenegro was among a small group of European education systems with a stand-alone, top-level Strategy for Lifelong Entrepreneurial Learning (2020‑2024),2 reflecting a strong commitment to this policy area. The strategy has expired and no successor has been introduced, in line with recommendations from the Final Report on its implementation (Montenegro Ministry of Economic Development, 2025[4]). Rather than signalling a retreat, this approach reflects a deliberate shift towards a lighter policy footprint and a more distributed, sector-anchored governance model. Under this model, formal entrepreneurial competences are to be developed programmatically and co-ordinated by the Ministry of Education within the broader education policy framework (mainly the Education Reform Strategy 2025-2030),3 while non-formal entrepreneurial learning and skills development are to be embedded within SME strategies (as is done in the Strategy for the Development of MSMEs 2023-2026). This strategic transition does not imply a weakening of implementation; on the contrary, comparative evidence from across the EU continues to highlight Montenegro as a positive example in translating policy intent into practice, positioning the economy as a regional leader in entrepreneurship education.
This strong implementation base is reflected in the way entrepreneurial competence is embedded across the education system. Entrepreneurship as a key competence is integrated at all levels of education, not only through cross-curricular topics within compulsory subjects such as mathematics, biology and language, but also through dedicated elective courses in primary and secondary education.4 This approach is being further strengthened through the recent revision of the National Core Curriculum and introduces an expanded cross-curricular theme, “entrepreneurial learning, financial literacy and social entrepreneurship”. Montenegro further distinguishes itself as the only WBT economy (and one of the few economies in Europe) that systematically assesses entrepreneurial learning outcomes across all levels of education. Both the design and assessment of entrepreneurial learning follow a progressive, system-wide approach, ensuring continuity and coherence throughout students’ educational pathways (Table 5.1).
Evidence consistently shows that entrepreneurial learning is most effective when grounded in experiential methods (Gangi and Sirelkatim, 2023[6]), and Montenegro has made substantial progress in this regard by embedding practical entrepreneurial experiences into the formal curriculum across all education levels. This is achieved through a combination of cross-curricular integration and dedicated programmes. The new Education Reform Strategy 2025-2035 further reinforces this orientation by placing a greater emphasis on practical learning, notably through expanded work-based and in-company placements, which may create additional opportunities for experiential learning.5 While such opportunities are available throughout the education system, provision is most structured and systematic at the vocational education and training (VET) level. Many vocational schools, particularly those specialising in economics, tourism and trade, incorporate student-run mini-companies into formal programmes,6 either within individual schools or through multi-school co-operation. This approach has achieved broad reach: in the 2023/2024 academic year, 27 VET schools established mini-companies involving 652 students.
Effective delivery of such an approach, however, depends critically on pedagogical support. While comprehensive guidance7 and training8 resources are available, most notably through the national Digital Education Platform (https://www.digitalnaskola.edu.me), several challenges persist. Existing resources are primarily targeted at teachers in early childhood, primary and general secondary education, leaving gaps in support for vocational teachers. Initiatives such as VETPreneur are beginning to address this by demonstrating how the European Union’s (EU) Entrepreneurship Competence Framework can be embedded within VET teaching and learning practices (Stojanovic, Cabrilo and Micunovic, 2023[7]).9
Despite this support architecture, evidence suggests that translating this into consistent classroom practice remains uneven. Participation in training opportunities is limited and varies significantly across school types and regions, and survey data indicate that many teachers continue to report low confidence in delivering entrepreneurship-related content, including those who have participated in training (Government of Montenegro, 2025[8]; Montenegro Ministry of Economic Development, 2025[4]). This points to a gap not in awareness, but in practical usability: while teachers generally know that guidance and training exist, these resources are often perceived as insufficiently concrete and poorly aligned with subject-specific teaching realities. As a result, gaps persist between curriculum intentions and classroom delivery, leading to inconsistencies in how students are exposed to entrepreneurial learning across schools and subjects.
Gender is an important component of entrepreneurship education, as evidence from international studies suggests that girls are generally less likely to enrol in entrepreneurship education programmes (Fröhlich and Welpe, 2025[9]). Lower participation is often linked to reduced self-confidence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, a pattern observed globally (Encinas-Martín and Cherian, 2023[10]). This disparity in confidence does not reflect differences in ability: international assessments show that girls in Montenegro perform on par with, or outperform, boys in key STEM subjects. For instance, in PISA 2022, girls and boys scored equally in mathematics (while among OECD countries, boys scored nine points higher on average), while girls outperformed boys in science points (versus no difference across OECD Member countries) (OECD, 2023[11]). Combined with a relatively high share of female STEM graduates in Montenegro – 45.4% of STEM tertiary graduates in 2023 compared with 33.5% in the European Union (Eurostat, 2025[12]) – these figures indicate that girls possess both the capability and interest to pursue STEM and entrepreneurship pathways.
In response, Montenegro has recently launched several initiatives to support girls in STEM and ICT fields primarily focused on raising awareness, building confidence, and providing early exposure through hands µon learning and inspirational content (Table 5.2). While these programmes are an important step towards broadening the future talent pool, they remain at an early stage of implementation, making it difficult to assess their effectiveness or long-term impact.
Note: STEM: science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Sources: Women4Cyber Montenegro (2025[13]); Tehnopolis (2025[14]); Montenegro Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (2026[15]); additional inputs from local consultants.
5.1.2. Bridging the divide between education and training systems and SMEs
Equipping students with relevant skills is essential to support a smooth transition from school to work and to ensure they meet labour market demands. Progress in this area has been mixed in Montenegro. In 2024, the share of youth not in employment, education or training (NEET) stood at 14.2%, remaining below the WBT regional average of 19.2% but still above the EU average of 9.1% (Figure 5.1). After earlier gains stalled following 2018 and the NEET rate only returning to pre-pandemic (2019) levels in 2023, recent developments are more encouraging. Between 2022 and 2024, the NEET rate declined sharply, falling by six percentage points, indicating renewed momentum in youth labour market integration.
Note: NEET: not in employment, education or training.
Sources: Eurostat (2025[16]); OECD (2025[17]); MONSTAT (2025[18]).
A key factor contributing to high youth unemployment and inactivity is that the education system does not sufficiently equip students with the skills demanded by the labour market. In a 2025 survey, a number of employers reported that many recent graduates lack sufficient practical skills and work experience (Employment Agency of Montenegro, 2025[19]), reflecting in part limited opportunities for practical, hands‑on training in schools, particularly within vocational education where this type of learning is critical. In the 2022/2023 academic year, only 37% of VET graduates completed substantial work-based learning (WBL) placements (defined as at least 25% of the programme), compared with 65.2% across the European Union (Montenegro Ministry of European Affairs, 2024[20]; Eurostat, 2025[21]).
To address this gap and improve the availability and the quality of practical training, dual vocational education and training (dual VET) – a form of WBL where practical training occurs entirely within a company – has gained prominence as a practical solution. Montenegro was the first WBT economy to implement dual VET at the national level,10 but nine years into its roll-out, its impact remains unclear. Early assessments indicated positive outcomes: dual VET graduates were nearly twice as likely to find employment after graduation compared to those in school-based programmes, and nearly 88% of surveyed companies planned to hire students trained through the system (ILO, 2020[22]). However, because the economy does not yet have a system-level mechanism to track VET students after graduation, the programme’s impact has not been systematically or regularly evaluated since 2020. Although there are plans to introduce such tracking as part of the new Career Guidance and Counselling Strategy 2025-2030, at the time of writing, evidence on dual VET’s longer term effectiveness and sustainability in Montenegro remains unclear.
Enrolment trends further complicate the picture. In the 2023/2024 school year, 463 students were enrolled in dual education, compared with 755 in 2020/2021 (Montenegro Ministry of European Affairs, 2024[20]). This decline reflects both limited attractiveness of the programme and attrition: an initial assessment by the International Labour Organization noted a 30% dropout rate between the second and third years (ILO, 2020[23]). One key factor is likely the financial arrangement: the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation covers student compensation in the first two years, but costs shift to businesses in the third year, when training intensity and associated expenses are the highest. Indeed, employers must provide remuneration equivalent to 20% of the average net salary, a cost that can disproportionately affect SMEs. This challenge is amplified by the structure of Montenegro’s economy, where more than 99% of firms are micro or small enterprises (with an estimated 90-92% being microenterprises), many of which lack the financial resources, staff capacity and organisational stability to sustain WBL placements over longer periods of time.
To address this, a Fund for Support of Dual Education has been formally established. Its operationalisation is set out in a recently adopted Rulebook issued by the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, which defines transparent procedures for allocating financial support. Eligible measures include rewards for high-performing students, reimbursement of transport and meal costs during practical training, compensation for in-company instructors, and financial support for employers that host three or more students or offer permanent employment to at least three programme graduates (Montenegro Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, 2025[24]).
In parallel with addressing financial constraints, efforts are underway to better inform employers, including SMEs, about the dual VET system, with the goal of increasing their engagement by clarifying responsibilities and procedures. This is particularly important given that in-company trainers often face challenges implementing the system, with many reporting difficulties in assessing students’ performance during practical training placements (ETF, 2025[25]). To this end, a “Guidebook for the Organisation and Implementation of School-based and Dual Practical Training at Companies” was published in 2025, providing detailed instructions and practical guidance for effective participation (Table 5.3).
Beyond practical challenges, there are also strategic concerns regarding the sectoral focus of dual VET programmes. At present, dual VET is concentrated in areas such as tourism, trade and hospitality, machinery and metal processing, electrotechnics, and services (Taeb, 2023[27]). While some of these sectors correspond to priorities in Montenegro’s Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) – notably sustainable and health tourism – other critical areas, such as energy and sustainable environment or ICT, remain largely under-represented. This imbalance highlights a disconnect between the current training offerings and broader strategic priorities, reflecting not only a potential limitation in dual VET’s ability to respond to emerging economic opportunities and leverage Montenegro’s competitive advantage, but also a wider issue of policy fragmentation, where education and economic development strategies remain misaligned.
However, dual VET does not reach all young people, particularly those outside the formal education system. To complement this, the Youth Guarantee Scheme provides a broader framework to support the large youth NEET population by ensuring timely access to quality employment, education or training opportunities. Since the last assessment cycle, Montenegro has advanced this agenda through the finalisation and adoption of the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan 2024-2026, which laid the groundwork for the pilot phase launched in January 2025 and set to run through 2026.
The pilot is being implemented in three municipalities (Bijelo Polje, Nikšić and Ulcinj), representing the northern, central and coastal regions, respectively. This geographic diversity is crucial, as it will inform the design and national roll-out of the Youth Guarantee model by reflecting the varying contexts across Montenegro. For instance, while only one in nine young people in coastal areas are NEET, the share rises to one in three in the north (Kandić, 2023[28]), suggesting that needs, service delivery capacities and labour market opportunities differ significantly across regions, thus underscoring the importance of tailoring Youth Guarantee implementation to local contexts.
Within the pilot, several targeted measures have been introduced to promote youth employment and entrepreneurship, with a strong role for SMEs in implementation (Table 5.4).
Note: NEET: not in employment, education or training.
Source: Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue (2025[29]).
However, the effectiveness of the pilot, and ultimately the success of the national roll-out, will depend on the capacity of the institutions involved. Indeed, implementing the Youth Guarantee requires intensive outreach and individualised support, as counsellors must conduct in-depth interviews, assess needs and prepare individual employment plans for each participant. Yet, delivery is constrained by limited financial and human resources. Staff have not received systematic on-the-job training in youth profiling and segmentation,11 and local employment offices remain understaffed (Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue, 2025[29]). Even when programmes are implemented, they do not always reach young people effectively: although around 74% of youth NEET are registered with the Employment Service of Montenegro (Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue, 2025[29]), surveys show that young people in almost every municipality report being unaware of the programmes and services available to them (Savićević, 2024[30]). To address this gap, Montenegro has adopted a dedicated outreach strategy with support from the European Training Foundation, with a revised outreach approach scheduled to be implemented from September 2026 onward.12
The way forward
Integrate entrepreneurial learning into pre-service teacher education to support implementation of the upcoming National Core Curriculum. Given the challenges teachers reported in integrating entrepreneurial competences into classroom practice, embedding entrepreneurial learning in initial teacher education would help equip future teachers with practical skills in experiential and student-centred pedagogies. This should include guidance on facilitating hands-on entrepreneurial activities and integrating entrepreneurial thinking across subject areas. National guidance could be developed through a structured partnership between university faculties and the Montenegro Bureau for Education, helping to address gaps in practical applicability and ensure consistent implementation across Montenegro.
Extend the development and dissemination of entrepreneurship teaching resources, guidance and training to educators in vocational and higher education. Building on existing initiatives (e.g. VETPreneur, PRAKTIKUM guide), further efforts could focus on strengthening educators’ capacity to translate competence frameworks into classroom practice. Tailored professional development would benefit from emphasising practical application through hands-on workshops, peer learning and coaching, addressing persistent challenges reported by teachers in implementing experiential and competence-based approaches. Supporting measures could include improved access to sector-relevant teaching materials, lesson plans and assessment tools, as well as clearer guidance on designing and delivering entrepreneurial practical experiences across different education pathways.
Ensure that the integration of life skills under the Education Reform Strategy 2025-2035 explicitly incorporates entrepreneurial competences, in alignment with the Career Guidance Strategy. As life skills are embedded across curricula, entrepreneurial skills should be clearly articulated and reinforced through teaching and guidance practices. Stronger alignment with the Career Guidance Strategy, which frames entrepreneurial competences as part of career management skills, would help ensure coherence between classroom delivery and guidance provision, and support the systematic development of an entrepreneurial mindset across levels of education.
Expand and strengthen dual VET and work-based learning to improve labour market relevance and responsiveness. Montenegro should undertake a structured review of existing WBL provision to identify gaps in sectoral coverage, quality and employer engagement, building on emerging co-ordination structures between the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, Employment Agency and Chamber of Economy. This review should inform targeted reforms to ensure WBL provision responds more effectively to current and emerging skills needs across the economy.
Align sector coverage of dual VET with the Smart Specialisation Strategy priorities. As part of this review, Montenegro should expand dual VET programmes in under-represented priority sectors identified in the S3, such as ICT and sustainable energy. This would require close collaboration between the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, the Ministry of Economic Development and sector-specific stakeholders to identify skills needs, update curricula and training standards, and actively engage employer partners. Incentive mechanisms, including through the Fund for Support of Dual Education, could be leveraged to encourage SME participation in S3-aligned programmes.
Expand collaborative training models to increase SMEs’ apprenticeship capacity. To address firm-level capacity constraints, Montenegro could promote training alliances that allow SMEs to pool resources and jointly deliver training. Where employer-based provision remains limited, supra-company practical training centres could be introduced (Box 5.1), ideally linked to existing or planned Centres of Vocational Excellence. These centres would provide learners with access to modern equipment and structured practical training, while also serving SMEs as shared facilities for upgrading skills, accessing new machinery and testing innovative production or service models. Combined with targeted funding for equipment investment, these centres could help alleviate apprenticeship bottlenecks, support SME innovation, and contribute to business growth and job creation.
Accelerate the operationalisation of the Fund for Support of Dual Education. Effective implementation of the fund would help address persistent financial barriers to SME participation in dual VET, particularly the risk of placements ending prematurely. To maximise impact, the fund’s design should prioritise clarity and accessibility, including transparent eligibility criteria, simplified application procedures and targeted support for employer costs in the third year of training, with particular attention to the constraints faced by microenterprises. Additionally, to ensure high-quality learning outcomes, the fund should also be linked to a small set of proportionate quality safeguards, such as basic monitoring of student completion rates, mentorship arrangements and learner feedback. Complementary outreach efforts, building on the 2025 Guidebook for the Organisation and Implementation of School‑based and Dual Practical Training at Companies, would be needed to ensure that SMEs are aware of the available support and understand the eligibility requirements.
Upgrade the existing digital offer into a single operational hub for education, employment and entrepreneurship services for youth NEET. A consolidated platform would bring together currently dispersed information on programmes and services into a coherent entry point for young people. Practical functionality, including eligibility self-assessment tools, step-by-step guidance, municipality-level contact information and direct application links, would improve accessibility and reduce dependence on in-person counselling. Gradual integration with existing administrative systems would allow the platform to provide more tailored guidance over time while strengthening outreach to registered NEET youth and improving overall system efficiency.
Austria’s supra-company training (Überbetriebliche Ausbildung, ÜBA) is a publicly organised form of apprenticeship training delivered by specialised training providers rather than individual firms. It targets young people who have completed compulsory education but are unable to secure an in-company apprenticeship placement, allowing them to pursue a recognised vocational qualification aligned with national apprenticeship standards.
The programme operates through three complementary training pathways: 1) full apprenticeship training delivered entirely by supra-company providers over the standard duration; 2) partial apprenticeship training, typically lasting up to one year, designed to bridge learners into firm-based placements when opportunities arise; and 3) partial qualification programmes for young people who lack the baseline skills or competences required to enter a regular apprenticeship. This differentiated structure allows the system to respond flexibly to varying learner needs while maintaining qualification integrity.
ÜBA is publicly funded and institutionally embedded, with approximately 75% of its financing provided by the Public Employment Service and the remaining 25% by regional governments, ensuring stable and predictable funding. As of December 2022, participants in supra-company training accounted for nearly 6% of all apprentices in Austria, delivered through a network of 97 training facilities. While comprehensive public evaluations are now dated, available evidence indicates positive participant outcomes, with 76% reporting that their situation improved or significantly improved following their participation in the programme.
The relevance of the supra-company model for Montenegro lies in its capacity to address structural constraints in apprenticeship provision. A high prevalence of small and medium-sized enterprises, combined with limited training capacity and seasonal labour demand, restricts the supply of firm-based placements. In this context, a supra-company approach could provide an institutionalised pathway to recognised work-based learning while supporting the gradual expansion and stabilisation of the dual education system, rather than substituting employer engagement altogether.
Sources: CEDEFOP (n.d.[31]); Austria Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy (2022[32]).
Ensuring that SMEs in Montenegro have access to a skilled workforce begins with the education system, but the process does not end there. Rapid and complex shifts in labour-market demand, both in the skills required and the nature of emerging occupations, mean that many workers must transition into new roles or substantially adapt within their current ones. Global estimates suggest that by 2027 around 60% of employees will need some form of additional training to keep pace with technological change (World Economic Forum, 2023[33]). Such trends highlight the growing importance of continuous upskilling and reskilling over the course of one’s working life to sustain employability, productivity and resilience.
However, skills gaps and mismatches are increasingly entrenched across Montenegro’s labour market, with both workers and SMEs reporting substantial gaps in the availability and quality of relevant skills. A 2023 survey of employers conducted by the Chamber of Economy found that more than 75% of companies faced difficulties in recruiting suitable workers, primarily due to misalignments between workers’ existing knowledge and skills and those required by the labour market (PwC, 2023[34]). These challenges are compounded by the ongoing outflow of skilled labour, which further constrains the domestic talent pool. Consequently, strengthening SME competitiveness and supporting growth therefore requires Montenegro’s skills systems to become more adaptive, responsive and aligned with evolving labour market needs.
This section focuses on improving the responsiveness and inclusiveness of the SME skills ecosystem through four inter-related dimensions: 1) more effective skills intelligence; 2) stronger adult learning provision; 3) targeted upskilling to manage the impacts of artificial intelligence (AI); and 4) dedicated measures to support women entrepreneurs.
5.2.1. Understanding and anticipating skills needs
Effectively responding to the evolving labour market requires anticipating change rather than reacting to it after the fact; this relies on a forward-looking understanding of current skills gaps and how workforce needs are likely to shift. Skills intelligence plays a key role in this process, providing the evidence needed to align education and training with labour market demands.13 When applied effectively, it can inform recruitment strategies, shape the design of adult learning and reskilling programmes, and support individuals and enterprises in navigating ongoing technological and structural change. In several EU member states, the systematic use of skills intelligence has proven effective in identifying labour shortages, directing adult education resources efficiently and guiding reforms in career guidance systems (CEDEFOP, 2024[35]).14
Yet, while there is recognition of the importance of skills intelligence, there remains scope to further develop Montenegro’s framework, limiting its capacity to equip SMEs with the skills and knowledge needed to respond to evolving labour market demands (Table 5.5). On a positive note, current strategies demonstrate an effort to adopt a cross-sectoral approach, spanning SMEs, industry and education. This goes beyond what is often seen in other WBT economies, where skills intelligence is typically confined to education or employment. However, the expiration of key strategies since 2022 (e.g. Strategy for Lifelong Entrepreneurial Learning, Employment Strategy) has left critical areas, particularly employment and innovation, inactive, weakening the overall robustness of the system.
Among the active strategies, the level of detail and operational focus remains uneven. While the MSME Strategy 2023-2026 sets out concrete measures, particularly in relation to training needs analysis, the Industrial Policy 2024-2028 addresses research and education and training largely in general terms, without specifying implementation mechanisms. In the absence of an integrated framework linking these approaches, skills intelligence remains fragmented and only partially connected to education and training provision. Namely, forward-looking tools such as skills forecasting, scenario analysis and modelling have not yet been systematically embedded in education sector planning, despite being acknowledged in the Education Strategy 2025-2035. As a result, education and training responses tend to remain reactive rather than anticipatory, increasing the risk of misalignment between SME demand, workforce skills and the evolving needs of the labour market.
Sources: Montenegro Ministry of Economic Development (2024[36]; 2020[37]; 2021[38]; 2023[39]); Montenegro Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (2025[40]; 2025[41]).
Currently, training needs analyses (TNAs) remain the primary tool for assessing labour market skills requirements in Montenegro, yet their application has been irregular and fragmented. Domestic institutions like the Ministry of Economic Development, the Chamber of Commerce and the Employers Federation have conducted TNAs intermittently rather than on an annual basis, limiting the generation of continuous evidence and constraining lessons from their findings from being integrated into policymaking. External actors, exemplified by the most recent TNA completed in December 2023 by PwC Global, adopt a project-based approach that further weakens institutional ownership, as findings are not systematically embedded within government decision‑making processes. The Strategy for Lifelong Entrepreneurial Learning envisaged a structured, annual SME survey to provide a consistent evidence base, but this activity was never implemented.15 Compounding these issues, the use of differing methodologies reduces comparability and, in some cases, the relevance of insights for SME-specific skills planning,16 limiting the framework’s ability to inform forward-looking policy decisions.
Despite these limitations, TNAs remain valuable for identifying the skills SMEs require and the barriers they face in recruitment and training. A consistent finding across TNAs conducted since 2020 is that most SMEs are dissatisfied with the knowledge and competencies of new employees, necessitating substantial on-the-job training to ensure tasks are performed effectively. The most commonly cited gaps are in soft skills (e.g. communication, teamwork), foreign language proficiency and digital skills (PwC, 2023[34]). While these insights have informed the design of new training programmes, particularly through the Chamber of Economy,17 their translation into formal education curricula remains limited. Indeed, the Ministry of Economic Development’s mandate for overseeing skills intelligence is narrow, and there is no formal mechanism to channel findings from TNAs to the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation to guide adjustments in school curricula, teaching methods or broader educational offerings.
Sectoral studies represent a growing component of Montenegro’s skills intelligence, providing granular, industry-specific evidence that cannot be captured through economy-wide labour market statistics alone. The Chamber of Economy’s 2024 survey on ICT talent needs demonstrates the value of this approach: although 86% of ICT firms plan to expand their workforce, almost all (97%) struggle to recruit suitably qualified staff, and only 3% believe the education system is producing graduates with the competencies the sector requires.18 These findings point to more than a general skills mismatch—they reveal where the talent pipeline is breaking down, which occupations face acute shortages and where training provision is misaligned with evolving industry needs. This level of detail greatly enhances the ability of policy-makers to prioritise reforms, refine curricula and channel reskilling or upskilling support towards SMEs in high‑growth sectors. In doing so, sectoral studies not only deepen the evidence base but also strengthen the responsiveness and strategic direction of the overall skills system. Complementing this, the European Training Foundation has commissioned the Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini to conduct a skills needs assessment in three strategic sectors (energy and sustainable environment, construction, and sustainable agriculture and food value chains) to support the preparation of Montenegro’s forthcoming Smart Specialisation Strategy 2026-2031 (Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini, 2025[42]).
Nonetheless, the broader data landscape remains a critical limitation. Forward-looking skills intelligence requires longitudinal, reliable data at the sectoral and national levels, yet the Statistical Office of Montenegro currently does not collect key indicators essential for this purpose, such as rates of under- or over-qualification, under- or over-skilling, job vacancy ratios by sector (including the proportion of hard-to-fill vacancies) or long-term unemployment by qualification. Without expanding the range and depth of the data collected, Montenegro’s skills intelligence will remain largely retrospective, capable of identifying current gaps but insufficiently equipped to anticipate future workforce needs or align training and education with structural labour market transformations.
As shown in Table 5.5, none of the current skills intelligence strategies or tools explicitly incorporate insights from the economy’s demographic outlook, further weakening forward-looking skills planning capacity. Montenegro’s labour market is being reshaped by population ageing, low fertility and emigration – trends that directly influence the availability and composition of skills. The share of people aged 65 and over has risen to 16.8% since 2011, while the average age of the population has increased by 2.5 years (MONSTAT, 2024[43]; Caglič, 2024[44]). Fertility rates remain below the replacement threshold, at 1.7 births per woman in 2023, further constraining the future supply of young workers (World Bank, n.d.[45]).
Although Montenegro’s overall emigration rate (14.8% of the population abroad) is slightly lower than its regional peers, the outflow of highly skilled workers remains a significant concern (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2024[46]). Nearly 60% of surveyed firms report that the emigration of skilled labour is a moderate or major obstacle to growth, mirroring data showing that Montenegro has one of the highest emigration rates among tertiary-educated individuals in the Western Balkans (RCC, 2024[47]; De Silva, 2024[48]). Internal migration patterns further accentuate labour market pressures: while the national population has grown modestly over the past three decades, rising by 20 000 inhabitants, the northern region has lost around 50 000 inhabitants over the same period, reflecting sustained movement toward central and coastal urban areas and deepening regional demographic disparities (United Nations Montenegro, 2023[49]).
Together, these demographic shifts are constraining the talent pool and altering the skill profile of the workforce, underscoring the importance of robust, forward-looking skills intelligence to understand current shortages and anticipate future needs.
5.2.2. Addressing skills needs of SMEs through adult education
While skills intelligence is essential for anticipating labour market needs, its impact ultimately depends on how effectively it informs the design of adult education programmes. Ensuring that both employed and unemployed individuals can access relevant learning opportunities is essential for fostering continuous upskilling and reskilling. This is especially critical for SMEs, where employees often assume multiple roles and stand to benefit considerably from well-targeted training provision. Yet, adult learning participation in Montenegro remains very low: in 2024, only 3.6% of adults engaged in education or training – around one‑quarter of the EU average (13.3%) and well below the 5% target set in the Employment Strategy 2021‑2025 (Figure 5.2).
Against the backdrop of persistently low engagement, raising adult learning participation has become a central policy priority in the Education Reform Strategy 2025-2035 and the Reform Agenda 2024-2027. The Reform Agenda 2024-2027 sets a target of reaching at least 7% participation by 2027 (Montenegro Ministry of European Affairs, 2024[20]). Achieving this target means that participation must more than double within two years, a considerable challenge given that, apart from a temporary increase in 2021 driven by wider access to online learning and COVID-related employment uncertainty, participation has stagnated since 2015, with the 2023 rate slightly below earlier levels. Persistently negative attitudes toward adult learning further compound this challenge, as many adults in Montenegro do not view education as an investment in future employability or income prospects but rather as an additional cost or unnecessary effort (Montenegro Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, 2025[50]). Taken together, these factors underscore the scale of the task and suggest that without comprehensive, system-wide reforms to improve access to adult learning and increase its attractiveness, supported by stronger incentives for individuals and employers, the target is unlikely to be achieved.
Note: For 2021-2023 for Montenegro, the rates are given as a percentage of the population aged 15-89.
Sources: Eurostat (2025[51]); OECD (2025[17]); MONSTAT (2025[18]).
These low participation rates persist despite significant needs among the workforce. While unemployment has declined in recent years, it remained high at 11.4% in 2024 (versus the EU average of 5.9%) (MONSTAT, 2025[52]; Eurostat, 2025[53]), reflecting a persistent mismatch between labour demand and the skills of the unemployed. Long-term unemployment further underscores this gap: the rate stood at 8.6% in 2024 (Figure 5.3), reflecting the fact that roughly 72% of unemployed individuals had been without work for over a year. Furthermore, these averages obscure important regional disparities: for example, in 2024, the northern region recorded an unemployment rate of 25.7%, more than 3 times that of the central region (8.4%) and 12 times that of the coastal region (2.0%) (MONSTAT, 2025[18]) – and yet social service infrastructure, including education and training, is notably less developed in the north. This combination of high need and limited access underscores the necessity of differentiated approaches to expanding adult learning opportunities, with tailored intensities and modalities of programme delivery, rather than a one‑size-fits-all solution, to effectively support upskilling and reskilling across Montenegro’s three regions.
Source: Eurostat (2024[54]).
Historically, adult learning programmes in Montenegro, delivered by institutions such as the Employment Service Agency or the Chamber of Economy, have predominantly targeted unemployed individuals. While these initiatives are important for addressing existing skills gaps, they do little to support the majority of the workforce whose skills may be at risk of becoming obsolete. Recent legislative developments, however, signal progress on this front. The new Law on Adult Education (2025) enables employers to organise internal training and professional development programmes, allowing firms to respond proactively to evolving market demands and technological changes (Government of Montenegro, 2025[55]). However, several key implementing bylaws remain outstanding,19 leaving the regulatory environment in a transitional phase that may slow effective implementation.
Strides have also been made in developing more flexible and targeted approaches to upskilling and reskilling, notably through micro-credentials (or “micro-qualifications”), as their short duration and focused content allow individuals to quickly respond to evolving technologies, business models and skills needs while improving accessibility for a more diverse workforce. In Montenegro, the Law on Adult Education provides a basic definition of micro-credentials,20 and in September 2025, the government issued a rulebook21 specifying their form and content—such as the name of the qualification and date and place of issue (Montenegro Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, 2025[56]). However, this guidance remains narrow: it does not reference the National Qualifications Framework, assign credit values or provide broader implementation instructions, increasing the risk that the law underdelivers on its potential to support inclusive upskilling and reskilling. Despite these limitations, this represents a critical first step in establishing a foundation for expanding micro-credentials across sectors, as to date, practical implementation has been largely confined to teacher professional development through the Erasmus+ CRED4TEACH project.22
Efforts to increase participation in adult learning in Montenegro are closely linked to preparing the workforce for the opportunities and challenges of the twin transitions. Indeed, the Reform Agenda explicitly includes measures to develop training programmes tailored to these sectors (Montenegro Ministry of European Affairs, 2024[20]). In terms of digital skills, Montenegro already exhibits a relatively strong foundation: in 2023, 52.0% of the population aged 16-74 possessed at least basic digital skills, only slightly below the EU average of 55.6% (see Cluster 3) (Eurostat, 2024[57]). While this represents modest growth since 2017 (49.6%), it remains below the ambitious targets set by the Industrial Strategy 2024-2028, which aims for 60% by 2026 and 70% by 2028 (Montenegro Ministry of Economic Development, 2024[36]), indicating the need for accelerated efforts to close the gap.
Despite this progress, gaps persist in the provision of digital skills training, which can exacerbate sectoral disparities. While recent initiatives have focused on advanced competencies (e.g. AI, machine learning, coding and Internet of Things technologies), employers increasingly report that digital skills are becoming essential across a wide range of sectors, including those that have not traditionally been technologically intensive (Employment Agency of Montenegro, 2025[19]). Indeed, fewer than half of employers report that their staff have adequate computer and technical literacy (PwC, 2023[34]), yet most basic digital skills programmes target unemployed individuals to enhance their employability. As a result, a substantial portion of the existing workforce – those already employed – remains underserved, leaving firms with limited capacity to upskill employees and reinforcing potential inequalities in digital competence across sectors.
Similarly, developing skills for the green transition has become a central priority for Montenegro given its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2035 relative to 1990 levels (UNFCCC, 2025[58]) – an objective that will require a substantial restructuring of the labour market (see Cluster 2). On the one hand, the economy must expand the supply of skills in emerging green occupations, which already account for 2.8% of total employment. On the other hand, workers in high-emitting “brown” sectors, representing 4.7% of total employment, will require preparation for displacement through reskilling and transition support (UNDP and OECD, 2025[59]).
The design of retraining and re-employment initiatives must consider the specific dynamics of green and brown employment – and the differences between them. For instance, green employment in Montenegro is relatively gender-balanced (3.4% of men versus 2.1% of women), whereas brown employment is overwhelmingly male-dominated (7.7% versus 1.2%) (UNDP and OECD, 2025[59]). As a result, when the government of Montenegro outlines retraining targets set for the coal and mining sector, those related to women are necessarily low, with only 15% of 400 workers expected to be retrained by 2027 (Montenegro Ministry of European Affairs, 2024[20]). These targets reflect the exceptionally low female participation in Pljevlja’s coal region, where women comprise only 17% of coal mine employees and 7% of thermal power plant employees (OECD, 2025[60]). Nonetheless, women face disproportionately higher transition risks: 44.9% of women in brown jobs, compared with 26.7% of men, are estimated to encounter substantial skills gaps when moving into green occupations (UNDP and OECD, 2025[59]).
Regional imbalances introduce further complexity. While both green and brown employment are generally concentrated in central Montenegro, brown jobs are disproportionately clustered in northern mining areas, where opportunities for economic diversification are limited and where training provision by key actors, such as the Chamber of Economy, is less likely to reach. Among workers in brown jobs, willingness to participate in training is low: a study in Pljevlja found that only 54% of employees expressed interest in adult learning (OECD, 2025[60]), suggesting that even if retraining measures are implemented, uptake may be limited. Economic disincentives might partially explain this reluctance, as 48% of women and 31% of men in brown sectors anticipate substantial skills gaps and wage reductions exceeding 10% when transitioning to green roles (Seiller, 2022[61]). Moreover, the absence of existing or planned financial incentives to encourage participation in reskilling programmes further exacerbates the vulnerability of these workers, who already face a high risk of displacement and limited preparedness for green sector employment.
5.2.3. Upskilling to support AI adoption and use
Artificial intelligence is reshaping skill needs across many sectors, with 32% of occupations worldwide expected to change substantially, a shift that underscores the importance of continuous upskilling for SME workforces to sustain their competitiveness (European Commission, 2024[62]). Although Montenegro lacks economy-specific estimates on the scale of AI-related job disruption, it will be exposed to the same structural shifts, compounded by existing shortages in the technical and IT skills needed to adopt AI technologies (UNDP, 2025[63]).This anticipated transformation highlights the imperative for the labour force to develop the skills needed to adapt to evolving job demands and to capitalise on emerging opportunities.
Relevant training programmes can be grouped into two broad categories: 1) those focused on developing specialised AI knowledge and skills;23 and 2) those aimed at equipping the average worker with the general skills needed to use and interact with AI technologies (e.g. digital literacy, analytical thinking, creativity) (OECD, 2023[64]). A wide array of programmes across both categories is available in Montenegro, as shown in Table 5.6. Such broad provision is notable given that 63% of employers reported taking no concrete measures to improve employees’ digital skills (RCC, 2023[65]), and while it was a marked increase, fewer than 8% of enterprises used AI technologies in 2024, up from only 3.3% in 2021.24
Note: AI: artificial intelligence; IoT: Internet of Things.
Sources: Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro (2024[66]); National Competence Centre for High-Performance Computing (2025[67]); Slovenian National Supercomputing Network (2025[68]); MontEDIH (n.d.[69]); HPC Montenegro (2023[70]); Montenegro Ministry of Public Administration (n.d.[71]).
Despite the growing number of AI-related training programmes in Montenegro, few are specifically tailored to the needs of SMEs, even in strategically important sectors such as tourism, which contributes around 25% of GDP (Government of Montenegro, n.d.[72]). The recent Artificial Intelligence Landscape Assessment highlights tourism as a priority sector for AI adoption (UNDP, 2025[63]), yet at the time of writing, dedicated upskilling initiatives for SMEs remain very limited. As such, there remains a clear gap between the recognition of sectoral AI opportunities and the availability of programmes designed to equip SMEs with the skills necessary to capitalise on them.
Evidence suggests that AI adoption can enhance efficiency, productivity and profitability in tourism firms by optimising pricing, reducing waiting times, improving customer satisfaction and enabling personalised experiences (Doğana and Niyetb, 2024[73]). However, the realisation of these benefits ultimately depends on the skill composition of the workforce. Tourism in Montenegro remains one of the least skill-intensive service sectors, with persistent shortages of mid- and high-skilled workers reported by the Employers’ Union (World Bank, 2022[74]; Montenegro Business, 2024[75]). The result is a structural tension in which AI is most likely to replace routine, manual tasks often carried out by low-skilled workers, yet its effective deployment requires skills that are currently scarce. High employee turnover further discourages firms from investing in training while low training intensity and weak foundational skills exacerbate limited digital literacy: only 27.3% of individuals with no or low education possess basic digital skills, compared with 69.6% of highly educated workers (Eurostat, 2024[57]).
Policy measures have begun to address these gaps. For example, the Innovation Fund’s Smart Specialisation Programme provides SMEs with grants of up to EUR 10 000 for training in AI and Internet of Things applications. Eligible programmes must include at least 5 working days of instruction and a minimum of 25% practical content, including demonstrations, case studies and experiments (Innovation Fund of Montenegro, n.d.[76]). By targeting priority areas identified in the S3 2019-2024, including sustainable and health tourism, this support can offset training costs and incentivise SMEs to develop the digital and AI-related capabilities necessary for sectoral transformation. However, these measures remain limited in scale, underscoring the need for more widely accessible, SME-focused programmes that reflect the specific skill requirements of the tourism sector.
5.2.4. Improving talent availability by empowering women entrepreneurs
Montenegro continues to face structural challenges in leveraging women’s entrepreneurial potential, limiting the development of a more diverse and highly skilled workforce. Women are underrepresented in the labour market: in 2024, their activity rate reached 57.1% and employment rate 50.2%, compared with 70.8% and 63.1% for men (MONSTAT, 2025[52]). Despite accounting for half the population and 45% of the employed workforce, women represented only 31.4% of entrepreneurs in 2024, a share that has remained largely unchanged since 2015 (32.1%) (Montenegro Ministry of Economic Development, 2025[77]).
Montenegro has taken steps to address these gaps by strengthening its policy framework for women’s entrepreneurship (Table 5.7). The cornerstone of these efforts is the new Strategy for the Development of Women's Entrepreneurship 2025-2028, which provides a dedicated platform for financial and non-financial support measures. Montenegro also distinguishes itself regionally through its explicit emphasis on increasing women’s participation in STEM and ICT fields. The 2025-2028 strategy recognises the importance of women entrepreneurs in STEM and S3 areas, and related policy documents, such as the circular economy and industrial strategies, reinforce this priority. This cross-sectoral approach is an important step toward directing women into higher growth, higher wage and innovation-intensive sectors.
Sources: Montenegro Ministry of Economic Development (2025[77]; 2021[38]; 2020[37]; 2024[36]; 2023[78]); Montenegro Ministry of Human and Minority Rights (2025[79]); Montenegro Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (2026[15]).
Yet, despite these policy efforts to boost women’s participation in priority sectors, women entrepreneurs remain concentrated in traditionally lower growth, lower wage activities, reinforcing persistent “sectoral segregation”. Wholesale and retail trade continues to dominate women’s entrepreneurship, constituting nearly one-third of all women-owned businesses, while representation in higher value sectors such as energy, ICT and other innovation-intensive industries remains minimal, highlighting significant untapped potential (Figure 5.4). A notable exception is professional, scientific and technical activities, which account for around 15% of women-owned businesses and signal gradual diversification. These broader patterns align with substantial wage differentials: in 2024, average gross wages in women-dominated sectors, namely trade (EUR 925) and accommodation (EUR 1 028) all fell below the national average of EUR 1 083; in contrast, women remain under-represented in sectors offering considerably higher wages, such as electricity and gas (EUR 1 630), information and communication (EUR 1 454), and financial services (EUR 1 833) (MONSTAT, 2024[80]).
Note: Sectors representing less than 1% of women-owned businesses were excluded from the figure.
Source: MONSTAT (2025[81]).
Beyond the policy focus, Montenegro has introduced several practical support programmes to foster women’s entrepreneurship, with improving access to finance as a central goal (Table 5.8). Indeed, the Strategy for the Development of Women's Entrepreneurship 2025-2028 highlights finance as one of the most significant barriers facing women in business. Structural constraints reinforce this challenge: women face a persistent gender wage gap of around 22% and hold only about 25% of registered assets, limiting their ability to use collateral for traditional bank loans (see Cluster 1) (EBRD, 2022[82]; Pignatti, 2023[83]). These factors are reflected in lending patterns: among women-owned SMEs, approved loans account for less than 18% of the total financing granted to all SMEs (Montenegro Ministry of Economic Development, 2025[84]).
Note: EBRD: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Sources: Montenegro Ministry of Economic Development (2025[85]); Government of Montenegro (n.d.[86]); Investitor (2025[87]); Vlajcic (2025[88]); information provided by the government of Montenegro during the assessment period.
Local governments play an important role in supporting women’s entrepreneurship, with 60% of Montenegro’s municipalities offering grant-based assistance. In 2024, they allocated EUR 579 630 through 141 non-refundable grants, averaging approximately EUR 4 110 per beneficiary. Although this represents a decrease in total funding compared to 2023, a higher number of women entrepreneurs were supported (156 in 2024, a 9% increase year-on-year). However, the distribution of funding is highly uneven. All municipalities in the central region and five of six in the coastal region awarded grants, whereas only four of the thirteen municipalities in the northern region did so. This pattern reflects a broader regional imbalance in the local support ecosystem for women-owned SMEs, with stronger programme activity concentrated in the central and coastal areas. The disparity is particularly notable given that the northern region records the lowest rates of women’s entrepreneurship, including in municipalities such as Petnjica (13.6% of businesses owned by women), Rožaje (17.7%) and Gusinje (18.7%) (MONSTAT, 2025[81]).
Despite the range of financial assistance programmes available, many women entrepreneurs continue to report difficulties in securing finance, suggesting that these instruments are not fully designed to match their needs. Requirements are often difficult for women to meet, even when the programmes are intended to support them. This is particularly evident in the case of the Investment and Development Fund, where applications demand more extensive documentation than commercial loans and frequently require collateral that many women do not have (Montenegro Ministry of Economic Development, 2025[84]). Lengthy approval times further reduce usability: decisions can take more than six months, a delay that is incompatible with seasonal sectors such as tourism, where many women entrepreneurs operate in accommodation and food services (RCC, 2023[89]).
Another important component of the support ecosystem for women entrepreneurs concerns capacity building through training and mentoring services offered by a wide range of actors (e.g. Association of Women Leaders of Montenegro, Business Women Association, Chamber of Economy, etc.). In this context, the launch of the National Digital Platform for the Development of Women's Entrepreneurship is a noteworthy development, as it centralises information on available support measures and learning opportunities (Box 5.2).
Montenegro’s Digital Platform for the Development of Women’s Entrepreneurship (zenskibiznis.me) provides a consolidated entry point for women seeking to build or expand their businesses, with a strong focus on strengthening entrepreneurial capacities. A dedicated learning and training section offers a structured e-learning platform that delivers practical, skills-oriented modules tailored to the needs of women entrepreneurs. Training covers core business competencies, including business start-up, marketing and digital promotion, financial management and taxation, human resource management, internationalisation, and business communication, allowing users to develop essential managerial and technical skills at their own pace.
The platform complements these modules with information on mentoring opportunities and business development services, helping women combine theoretical knowledge with practical support networks. This integrated approach addresses a key gap in Montenegro’s small and medium-sized enterprise ecosystem, where access to tailored training and advisory services for women entrepreneurs has traditionally been limited.
By centralising capacity-building resources in an accessible digital format, the platform has widened access to structured entrepreneurial learning, particularly for women outside major urban centres or with a limited ability to attend in-person trainings. While evidence on its impact is still limited, the platform can still serve as a scalable tool for strengthening entrepreneurial skills, enhancing business readiness and supporting the long-term growth of women-led enterprises in Montenegro.
Source: Adapted from Women’s Business Community of Montenegro (n.d.[90]).
Family obligations continue to shape the experiences of women entrepreneurs in Montenegro, though their impact is mitigated by comparatively strong social protections. For example, self-employed women are entitled to the same maternity and parental leave benefits as employees in formal employment, conditional on contributions to social insurance. Compensation is calculated based on average monthly income over the preceding 18 months25 and is disbursed through the recently introduced Maternity and Parental Leave Refund Portal (porodiljsko.gov.me). While these measures help to reduce some structural barriers associated with balancing entrepreneurship and caregiving, gender disparities in unpaid care work persist. Access to childcare remains a key constraint: in urban areas, demand for preschool services frequently outstrips supply, limiting availability (Kaluđerović, 2025[91]), while in northern and more rural parts of the economy, childcare infrastructure and support services are even more limited or absent altogether. In these regions, constraints are further reinforced by stronger traditional gender roles and weaker informal care networks, resulting in more acute and compounded challenges for women entrepreneurs. These geographic disparities influence women’s ability to participate fully in entrepreneurial activity, as well as the timing, scale and growth potential of their businesses.
The way forward
Develop national and regional skills intelligence systems, including skills anticipation. Montenegro should build a coherent national and regional skills intelligence system that consolidates existing data sources (e.g. labour market information from the Employment Agency of Montenegro, education and training data from the Ministry of Education and the Statistical Office, administrative data from training providers) into a shared framework. The system should combine sector-specific, longitudinal and economy-wide indicators on skills supply and demand; apply standardised methodologies for training needs analysis; and integrate forward-looking tools such as skills forecasting, scenario analysis and econometric modelling. Alignment with CEDEFOP’s skills intelligence indicators and EU good practices in skills anticipation and matching would strengthen comparability, policy relevance and the use of evidence in workforce planning.
Establish formal mechanisms linking skills intelligence to education policy and curriculum development. Stronger institutional collaboration between the Ministry of Economic Development; the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation; and key external stakeholders, such as the VET Agency and the Chamber of Commerce, would help ensure that findings from training needs analyses and sectoral studies inform curriculum updates in the formal education system. Embedding skills intelligence into sectoral committees and VET curriculum review cycles would support more responsive provision while incorporating feedback on how education and training have adapted to identified labour market needs into annual reporting would strengthen accountability and policy learning.
Expand adult learning provision to employed workers by strengthening employer-led upskilling frameworks. Given that adult learning policies currently focus primarily on the unemployed, developing targeted guidance to support firms, particularly SMEs, in designing internal professional development pathways would help extend access to continuous learning for those in employment. Linking company-based training to recognised micro-credentials and providing incentives for investment in priority skills areas, including digital and green transition skills, AI applications for SMEs, and sector-specific competencies, would further support productivity, adaptation and workforce resilience.
Support the expansion of employer-led upskilling through more sustainable and diversified funding mechanisms. The effectiveness of employer-led training frameworks depends on the availability of predictable financing, which remains limited and fragmented, particularly for SMEs. To complement the measures above, Montenegro could explore establishing a national skills fund financed through a combination of public resources and employer contributions. This could include training levies (i.e. mandatory or semi-mandatory employer contributions, typically calculated as a small percentage of payroll) that are earmarked for workforce training and can be reclaimed by firms investing in employee upskilling, as done in Italy (Box 5.3).
Establish collateral-free and alternative financing mechanisms accessible to women entrepreneurs, providing equality of access to funding programmes, including across underserved regions of the economy. This approach addresses the structural barriers that limit access to traditional lending channels, such as low levels of property ownership by women. The design should build on the experience of existing providers, such the Women in Business Programme and the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code, and consider revenue-based financing or blended finance. National financing actors, including the Investment and Development Fund and the Innovation Fund, should establish dedicated allocation targets for women-led enterprises.
Italy’s Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Training Fund (FAPI) is an interprofessional training fund specifically designed to support continuous training in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It forms part of Italy’s broader system of interprofessional funds which are financed through employer contributions and enable firms to invest systematically in workforce upskilling.
FAPI is funded through the reallocation of 0.30% of employers’ payroll contributions paid monthly to the National Institute for Social Security. Rather than constituting an additional levy, this contribution is already mandatory and can be redirected by firms to the training fund of their choice. Once a company formally adheres to FAPI, its earmarked contributions are transferred by the National Institute for Social Security to the fund, allowing firms to access training financing at no additional cost. Companies may change funds by revoking their previous affiliation, ensuring flexibility within the system.
The fund’s primary objective is to support continuing vocational training for SME employees, covering a wide range of learning formats. Eligible activities include classroom-based training, work-based learning, coaching and tutoring, distance and asynchronous learning, and participation in workshops and seminars. This flexibility allows firms to tailor training provision to operational needs and workforce profiles.
In practice, the geographical distribution of funding reflects Italy’s economic structure, with higher uptake in regions characterised by dense productive activity, such as Lombardy, Lazio, Veneto, Emilia‑Romagna and Piedmont. This concentration underscores the importance of complementary outreach and support measures to ensure access for SMEs operating in less industrialised regions.
For Montenegro, the key lesson lies less in replicating the Italian system in full and more in adopting its core principles: predictable funding flows, broad eligibility of training formats and simple opt-in arrangements for employers. Such features could help strengthen employer engagement in training, particularly among SMEs that currently rely on ad hoc or externally funded programmes, and support a more sustained approach to employee upskilling over time.
Source: CEDEFOP (n.d.[92]).
Systematically embed gender impact assessment in the successor to the Smart Specialisation Strategy. The previous Smart Specialisation Strategy 2019-2024 did not assess the gender implications of its priority areas, policy measures or funding allocations, despite the fact that many S3 domains are characterised by pronounced gender imbalances in employment and entrepreneurship. While complementary strategies, such as the Strategy for the Development of Women’s Entrepreneurship 2025-2028 and sectoral policies on industrial development and the circular economy, recognise the importance of women’s participation in STEM-related and S3‑linked activities, their stand-alone focus is insufficient to address gender gaps within core innovation policy. The forthcoming S3, therefore, provides an opportunity to integrate gender impact assessment from the design stage. This would entail analysing the potential differential effects of the proposed measures on women and men, identifying barriers to women’s participation in S3 priority sectors, and establishing gender-sensitive monitoring mechanisms to track outcomes during implementation.
Human capital alone cannot keep pace with the demands of an increasingly dynamic global economy, especially as Montenegro’s education and training systems struggle to supply a workforce with the full range of required skills. For SMEs, which are often constrained by limited financial and staffing capacities, developing and mobilising social capital – the networks, trust and shared norms that underpin co-operation and resilience – becomes equally important.
The social economy offers a promising channel through which SMEs in Montenegro can cultivate and draw on such social capital. Engagement in social economy networks enables firms to exchange expertise, pool resources and pursue innovative responses to economic and societal needs. Although the sector is expanding across Europe, accounting for more than 4.3 million of organisations and 6.3% of employment (European Commission, 2025[93]), it is still emerging in Montenegro, creating barriers to development and scope for greater adoption.
Against this backdrop, this section examines the key building blocks for strengthening Montenegro’s social enterprise ecosystem, focusing on improved mapping alongside the development of a more supportive legal and institutional environment.
5.3.1. Mapping the social enterprise landscape
Understanding the scope and structure of the social enterprise landscape is an essential starting point for developing the wider social economy. Mapping exercises are particularly important in this regard as they provide the evidence base needed to assess the scale, characteristics and needs of the sector. In this regard, Montenegro has made progress by undertaking its first mapping of the social economy in 2025; however, the exercise did not attempt to quantify the number of social enterprises or estimate their presence in the economy (Government of Montenegro, 2025[94]).
The lack of such data reflects more fundamental constraints. Montenegro does not have a legal requirement for social enterprises to register, nor any formal procedure through which they can obtain a distinct status. In practice, this makes it difficult to identify genuine social enterprises and increases the risk of both under- and over-identification: some organisations may present themselves as social enterprises without meeting core criteria while others conducting socially oriented economic activities may not recognise themselves as part of the social economy.
This challenge is compounded by the lack of a government-managed register capable of systematically capturing relevant information. Authorities plan to establish a functional Register of Social Economy Entities by 2027, with the aim of making it publicly accessible by 2029 (Montenegro Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue, 2025[95]). However, as the initiative remains at a very early stage, key design elements, such as the scope of data to be collected (e.g. sector of activity, legal form and employment levels), have yet to be defined, which could limit the register’s usefulness and the transparency of the information generated. Moreover, until such a mechanism is in place, mapping efforts will continue to rely on partial information, limiting the ability to build a comprehensive and policy-relevant picture of the social enterprise ecosystem.
In the absence of comprehensive data by domestic institutions, existing estimates rely on ad hoc external sources that are either indicative rather than exhaustive – such as the “Road Map of Social Enterprises”, which identified 10 active entities – or based on outdated information, as illustrated by a 2018 estimate placing the number closer to 50 (Youth Alliance – Krusevo, n.d.[96]; Jankovic, 2018[97]). In either case, comparative evidence underscores how low this number is: Luxembourg, an EU member state with a similar population size,26 counts between 916 and 932 social enterprises (Hiez and Francesco, 2020[98]). While Luxembourg represents a more mature ecosystem, the contrast points to the significant scope for expansion in Montenegro should systematic identification, data collection and institutional support be strengthened.
Despite the absence of formal mechanisms to recognise or track them, de facto social enterprises have nonetheless emerged in Montenegro (Box 5.4).
The existing social enterprises in Montenegro attempt to address a diverse set of social challenges, demonstrating the potential of the sector even in the absence of formal recognition or a comprehensive register. Early examples show initiatives targeting inclusion, rural development and digital skills:
Association of Paraplegics and Quadriplegics of Montenegro: This non-profit organisation provides rehabilitation programmes, accessibility support and advocacy for individuals living with paralysis. It works to improve social inclusion and quality of life for beneficiaries while raising awareness and fostering community acceptance of people with disabilities.
Rural Tourism Association – Tourism in Villages: Bringing together around 70 agricultural households, this association supports the development of rural tourism. It enables families in rural areas to diversify their sources of income while promoting the preservation of villages and local cultural heritage, contributing to regional economic resilience.
Digitalizuj.me Montenegro: This organisation focuses on digital literacy and innovation. Through workshops, hackathons and educational programmes, it seeks to enhance the digital skills of individuals and organisations, supporting entrepreneurship and workforce development in Montenegro’s growing digital economy.
These instances highlight the sector’s potential to generate social and economic value across multiple domains. While nascent, they illustrate how social enterprises can combine mission-driven objectives with active service delivery, offering models that could be scaled with stronger institutional support.
Source: Adapted from OSCE (2024[99]).
5.3.2. Creating an enabling environment for social enterprises
To date, the development of Montenegro’s social enterprise ecosystem has been constrained by the absence of robust policy and legal frameworks. Most existing sectoral strategies only indirectly address social entrepreneurship, typically alongside general entrepreneurship initiatives, and lack concrete measures or specific targets to monitor progress (Table 5.9). However, the recent adoption of a dedicated Strategy for the Development of Social and Solidarity Economy and the ongoing drafting of a Law on Social Economy signal a shift.
Sources: Montenegro Ministry of Economic Development (2021[38]; 2023[39]); Government of Montenegro (2025[94]); Montenegro Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue (2025[95]); information provided by the government of Montenegro during the assessment period.
The new Strategy for the Development of Social and Solidarity Economy represents the first effort to establish clear, nationally recognised definitions of social entrepreneurship and social enterprises.27 Previously, these concepts were referenced across multiple policy documents without being formally defined, creating uncertainty among public and private actors regarding the purpose, principles and objectives of social enterprises. In some cases, definitions were introduced, most notably in the Employment Strategy 2021-2025, but these were narrow in scope, framing social entrepreneurship primarily as a labour market integration tool rather than reflecting the broader social mission embedded in international good practice. By anchoring the strategy, and the forthcoming Law on Social Economy, in clear and inclusive definitions, the government has the potential to address these conceptual ambiguities and better align with stakeholder feedback, which emphasises that social enterprises should be defined by a clear social mission rather than solely by the employment of specific target groups.
Another key opportunity, particularly for the Law on Social Economy, is to establish a clear legal status for social enterprises. As noted, the absence of formal recognition has meant that, to date, social enterprises have operated under existing legal forms (e.g. limited liability companies, co-operatives, non-governmental organisations [NGOs]), which, while flexible, do not explicitly acknowledge their social mission. By enshrining the ability for social enterprises to operate under any legal form, without imposing overly rigid definitions that could constrain sectoral growth (OECD, 2022[100]), the law could simultaneously clarify what legal status entails and open the door to targeted incentives, such as tax benefits or preferential access to public procurement. Ensuring this broad approach is particularly important given that recent mapping and sectoral analyses have focused exclusively on NGOs, which, while a significant subset, do not fully represent the diversity of social enterprises in Montenegro (Government of Montenegro, 2025[94]; Montenegro Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue, 2025[101]).
Once the policy and legal frameworks are in place, raising awareness becomes a critical first step. Limited visibility of the social enterprise field – among businesses that may be interested in adopting a social enterprise model and among public sector actors who could support its development – has been identified as a key constraint on ecosystem growth in Montenegro (Government of Montenegro, 2025[102]). Low visibility restricts access to resources, as investors and donors tend to prioritise well-recognised initiatives. It also weakens legitimacy, community support and trust. In response, initial awareness-raising efforts have begun to emerge, including a cycle of events promoting the social economy organised through the project “EU Support to the Employment and Social Policy Sector in Montenegro”, with activities held in Bar, Nikšić, Podgorica and Bijelo Polje (Government of Montenegro, 2025[103]). These efforts, complemented by several planned awareness campaigns (three by 2029 (Montenegro Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue, 2025[95])), represent an important step toward building broader understanding and engagement across the ecosystem.
Once social enterprises are operational and visible, tailored support programmes and tools are needed to accelerate their growth in line with the challenges they face. Access to finance is consistently cited as a key barrier (Government of Montenegro, 2025[94]; Montenegro Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue, 2025[95]), reflecting the absence of public funds and financial instruments such as grants, loans or other resources specifically designed for social enterprises. Limited financial support from state or local governments currently forces social enterprises to rely on private financing through banks (which often do not adequately account for the specific characteristics and needs of social enterprises) alongside donations and membership fees. Positively, an upcoming 2026 public call, “Support for Social Innovations of Social Economy Actors,” with a total budget of EUR 200 000, aims to support at least eight NGOs. While modest in scale, this initiative marks a shift towards more structured financial support and provides a basis upon which broader, more sustainable financing mechanisms could be developed.
Non-financial capacity building likewise remains underdeveloped. Although social enterprises can, in principle, participate in general training programmes offered by institutions such as the Chamber of Commerce, these do not address the specialised capacities required for social enterprise development, such as impact measurement, hybrid business models or reinvestment strategies aligned with a social mission. Consequently, current provision offers only partial support. Social economy actors also report difficulties accessing mentoring and advisory services, further limiting their competitiveness. While trainings on social economy, social entrepreneurship and social innovation are planned for 2026 (Montenegro Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue, 2025[101]), existing initiatives remain small in scale, such as those delivered by the Centre for Civic Education (Centre for Civic Education, 2024[104]), or still in development, including forthcoming capacity building under both the new Strategy for the Development of Social and Solidarity Economy 2025-2029 and the EU Single Market Programme.28 Preliminary mapping underscores persistent gaps in business skills and digitalisation training tailored to the sector (Government of Montenegro, 2025[94]). As the ecosystem matures, demand will increasingly shift towards more technical content, including methodologies for measuring social impact, enabling enterprises to demonstrate their economic and social contributions and thereby access wider support opportunities.
The way forward
Anchor the forthcoming strategy and law on social enterprises in clear, inclusive definitions that capture the diversity of social enterprise models. Earlier strategies did not establish a formal definition of social entrepreneurship, which has limited policy coherence and the ability to accurately map and support the sector. The draft Strategy for the Development of the Social and Solidarity Economy 2025-2029 and the Law on Social Economy, therefore, represent a critical opportunity to introduce comprehensive definitions that reflect the diversity of social enterprise models, are coherent with EU frameworks and build on the conceptual work undertaken in the 2025 mapping exercise. From an implementation perspective, the law should allow social enterprises to operate across different legal forms (e.g. limited liability companies, co-operatives, NGOs), avoiding overly rigid legal requirements that could constrain the development of the sector.
Accelerate efforts to establish a unified and operational Register of Social Economy Entities by providing a simple registration process with transparent identification and data collection to map the growth of this sector. Key data points could include sector of operation, legal form, social mission, beneficiary groups and number of employers, with agreed-upon and defined criteria to identify genuine social enterprises. Responsibility for the register should be with a designated government body with allocated resources for this role, and, once operational, the register could provide the evidence base necessary to inform future policy actions.
Develop a coherent support package combining awareness-raising, dedicated financing and specialised capacity building, following the adoption of policy and legal frameworks. This new package should include economy-wide awareness campaigns to improve visibility; dedicated financial instruments (e.g. grants, preferential loans, small-scale innovation funding) tailored to early-stage social enterprises; and specialised training on business models, impact measurement and AI/digitalisation. Drawing on international good practice, such as Scotland’s integrated, consortium-based support ecosystem for social enterprises (Box 5.5) this approach would help consolidate currently fragmented support provision and enable social enterprises to scale their social and economic contribution more effectively.
Scotland’s approach to social enterprise development is anchored in a long-term, sector-led policy framework. The Social Enterprise Strategy 2016-2026 was co-designed with social enterprises and representative bodies, ensuring that policy priorities and support instruments reflected operational realities rather than top-down assumptions. This collaborative design process has helped align public support with the evolving needs of the sector and sustain stakeholder engagement over time.
To reduce fragmentation in business support provision, Scotland introduced a consortium-based delivery model through the “Just Enterprise” programme. Funded by the Scottish government and delivered by a partnership of 12 third-sector organisations, the programme consolidates existing expertise rather than creating a new institution. Development agencies, training providers, regional enterprise networks and social investment bodies work together to provide a single-entry point for social enterprises seeking advice, training or finance while allowing each partner to contribute specialist knowledge aligned with different stages of enterprise development.
Within this ecosystem, distinct organisations support social enterprises across the full life cycle. Social Enterprise Scotland functions as an independent membership body, providing collective representation and policy advocacy. Firstport acts as the national start-up agency, offering early-stage grants and advisory services to help entrepreneurs test and launch ideas. Social Investment Scotland supports growth-stage enterprises through loan financing, ranging from small bridging loans to larger growth capital, combined with investment readiness support. Complementing these functions, the Social Enterprise Academy delivers specialised training in areas such as impact measurement, hybrid business models and leadership, and runs a schools programme that integrates social enterprise education into compulsory schooling.
The Scottish model offers several transferable lessons for strengthening Montenegro’s emerging social and solidarity economy framework. Adopting a co-design approach could enhance ownership and implementation of the Strategy for the Development of the Social and Solidarity Economy 2025-2029, ensuring that support measures reflect the operational needs of social enterprises. A consortium-based delivery model could also help consolidate currently fragmented support without the need to establish new institutions, while clearer functional differentiation among support actors would help address the capacity gaps identified in Montenegro’s 2025 mapping exercise. In addition, introducing a simple registration mechanism linked to regular data collection would improve sector visibility and provide a stronger evidence base to support monitoring, evaluation and future policy development.
Sources: Government of Scotland (2016[105]); Social Investment Scotland (n.d.[106]); Social Enterprise Academy (n.d.[107]).
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← 1. This data comes from a report shared with the OECD team by the Employment Agency of Montenegro, titled, “Analysis of Employer Needs in the Labor Market of Montenegro 2025.” It was not accessible online at the time of writing.
← 2. According to the 2025 Eurydice report Entrepreneurship Education at School in Europe, only five education systems (Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Montenegro, and Sweden) have adopted such dedicated strategic documents, positioning Montenegro as a notable exception in European and regional terms. For more information, see: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/25bc9072-afc8-11f0-b37f-01aa75ed71a1/language-en.
← 3. While the Education Reform Strategy 2025-2035 serves as the main policy document encompassing formal education as it relates to entrepreneurial learning, the Youth Strategy 2023-2027 is another key framework that emphasises intersectoral co-operation to support formal (and non-formal) education, including through the promotion of entrepreneurship. Additionally, the Career Guidance and Counselling Strategy 2025-2030 encompasses entrepreneurship and self-employment as a career choice for students, while the Reform Agenda 2024-2027 mentions the importance of students acquiring entrepreneurial competences and transversal skills during their practical education.
← 4. For example, students in grades 7 to 9 of primary school have the option to take an elective course entitled “Entrepreneurial Learning”. Similarly, students in the first or second year of gymnasium (upper secondary education) can choose an optional subject also titled “Entrepreneurial Learning”. These elective courses offer additional opportunities to develop entrepreneurial competences in a more focused and structured way, complementing the cross-curricular integration of entrepreneurship across the broader curriculum.
← 5. The extent to which such placements foster entrepreneurial competences, however, will depend on their design and implementation, as practical exposure alone does not automatically translate into entrepreneurial learning. Instead, outcomes heavily depend on the nature of the placement.
← 6. These mini companies enable students to experience all phases of entrepreneurship, from idea development through to product creation, marketing and sales, often showcasing their work at school entrepreneurship fairs and community events.
← 7. One notable resource is the “Teacher Toolkit”, which provides comprehensive guidelines for lesson planning, monitoring and evaluation. It includes a checklist and forms for self-evaluation and evaluation of teaching activities related to key competences, offering a standardised framework for assessing entrepreneurship-related learning outcomes. Complementing this is the more practice-oriented guide, “Our School – Entrepreneurial Learning”, which offers concrete examples of how entrepreneurial learning can be embedded into compulsory subjects through detailed lesson plans and integration strategies.
← 8. For example, in the Institute for Education of Montengro’s “Catalogue of Professional Programmes for Teacher Training for the period 2022-2025”, one of the dedicated trainings is entitled, “Learning for Entrepreneurship”. Its overall objective is to enable teachers to effectively integrate entrepreneurial learning into regular teaching activities in the form of a cross-curricular theme. Additionally, at the time of writing, there is an ongoing strategic review of the national catalogue to ensure appropriate teacher training provision for entrepreneurship education.
← 9. It is important to note that the recently adopted and implemented Career Guidance Strategy strengthens system-level coverage by embedding entrepreneurial competences within career management skills learning outcomes. While this represents an important institutional advance, it primarily supports guidance and counselling functions rather than classroom-based teaching.
← 10. Dual VET was first deployed nationally in the 2017/2018 school year.
← 11. Full roll-out of support and resources in this area to all municipalities is planned following the completion of the pilot phase.
← 12. Information provided by the European Training Foundation.
← 13. “Skills intelligence” can be defined as the “process of identifying, collecting, analysing, synthesising and presenting quantitative or qualitative information on skills and the labour market to: (i) identify key trends and demands in the labour market, (ii) assess, anticipate and forecast skills needs, (iii) address skills gaps and mismatches and (iv) adapt provision of education and training accordingly.” For more information, see: https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/vet-glossary/glossary/kompetenzanalytik.
← 14. These examples refer to specific examples of Greece, Germany and Cyprus, respectively.
← 15. According to the final implementation report of the Strategy for Lifelong Entrepreneurial Learning 2020-24, the measure related to conducting annual surveys of SME needs was not implemented. See: https://www.gov.me/en/documents/8cc6da8e-53c1-4e49-97b5-49061c970ac9.
← 16. This is the case when TNAs do not focus specifically on SMEs but also include large firms.
← 17. For example, the Chamber of Economy identified shortage occupations (e.g. welder, car mechanic, locksmith, ceramicist, painter and business secretary) and offered scholarships for unemployed youth to enroll in retraining programmes to acquire new professional qualifications in these fields. This training began in 2024 and continued through 2025. For more information, see: https://komora.me/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/gi-2024.pdf.
← 18. These data come from a study conducted by the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro in 2024. The report was shared with the OECD team within the framework of the assessment period, but the report is not publicly available at the time of writing.
← 19. This notably includes those related to recognition of prior learning, quality assurance, financing mechanisms, employer-based training and system-wide monitoring.
← 20. The Law on Adult Education (2025) defines a micro-qualification as “the acquired knowledge, skills and competences that a learner gains based on one or more learning outcomes [of the law], and which is recognised in the process of obtaining a vocational qualification.”
← 21. This refers to the “Rulebook on the Form and Content of the Certificate of Acquired National Professional Qualification and the Certificate of Acquired Micro-credential or Key Competence.”
← 22. The CRED4TEACH project aims to provide high-quality, responsive, inclusive and competency-based training for in-service teachers across different educational sectors. It does so by establishing massive open online course (MOOC)-based short training programmes, or micro-credentials, to expand opportunities for teacher professional development in Albania, Montenegro and Ukraine. For more on this project, see: https://cred4teach.eu/.
← 23. While there is no standard definition for what constitutes “specialised AI knowledge and skills”, this tends to involve computer programming, database management (especially for big data), and skills for data analysis and visualisation. It might also involve knowledge on specific AI models, tools or software. For more information, see: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-employment-outlook-2023_08785bba-en/full-report/skill-needs-and-policies-in-the-age-of-artificial-intelligence_fe530fbf.html.
← 24. This data was provided by the government of Montenegro during the preparation of the Economic Convergence Scoreboard for the Western Balkans 2025. See: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/economic-convergence-scoreboard-for-the-western-balkans-2025_bc0babf3-en.html.
← 25. In cases where women entrepreneurs had contributed fewer than 18 months prior to taking maternity leave, the minimum wage (rather than average monthly income) is used for the calculation.
← 26. In 2024, Luxembourg had a population of approximately 678 000, whereas the estimated population of Montenegro was around 624 000. For more information, see: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL.
← 27. The strategy defines social entrepreneurship as “a way of doing business, a process undertaken by social enterprises to meet a social need through the market; operationalized values that benefit people and nature over product.” The definition of social enterprise is “part of the social economy and operates by providing goods and services to the market in an entrepreneurial and often innovative way, with social and/or environmental objectives as the reason for their commercial activities. Profit is mainly reinvested in order to achieve a social goal. Their way of organizing and owning also follows democratic or participatory principles or focuses on social progress. Social enterprises adopt different legal forms depending on the national context.” See: https://www.gov.me/dokumenta/ee889da3-60e0-4cd8-8c38-c285a58c299d.
← 28. There is a component that seeks to strengthen the organisational and entrepreneurial capacities of SMEs in the social economy.