The potential of the IT industry is receiving increasing public attention, and Montenegro is becoming an important country for IT investments. The actual extent of this potential was demonstrated by the numbers presented at today’s press conference organized by ICT Cortex and the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro, where the results of an ICT research study were presented.

Montenegro is experiencing growth in the ICT sector in terms of the number of companies, employees, as well as revenues and profits. This was shown by the analysis of the IT sector in Montenegro conducted by the consulting firm “CEED Consulting” for the needs of the ICT Cortex cluster, under the auspices of the Reconomy program.

One particularly interesting finding from the research is that the export of computer services increased to a record 21% in 2022, compared to only 3% in 2017.

“The growth in the number of companies has been influenced by the war in Ukraine. Despite the crisis, the IT sector is experiencing growth in all observed parameters, and the IT industry has also seen revenue growth. The analysis showed that companies are facing a shortage of qualified workforce,” said Jovana Vujačić from the company “CEED Consulting.”

Among the 70 surveyed companies, the following interesting data stand out:

• 37.5% of the companies consider the introduction of PayPal or another credible payment processor as an important aspect of improving the ecosystem for IT sector development in Montenegro.
  
• 82.8% of the surveyed companies intend for their employees to spend a certain amount of their time on developing new products.
  
• 55.7% of them plan to create spin-offs and startups in the next three years.
  
• 87.1% of the companies plan to create new jobs in the next three years, with a total of 725 new jobs planned among the surveyed 70 companies.
  
• 12.8% of the companies did not allocate funds for innovation. Among the other companies, an average of 20.1% of total revenues is directed toward innovation. Every fifth company allocates 30% or more of its revenues to innovation.
  

Nina Drakić, the President of the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro, stated that, in addition to tourism, agriculture, and energy, the IT sector is recognized as a strategic sector.

“The IT sector had the highest growth last year, which indicates its potential,” said Drakić.

Statistics show that the number of registered companies in the ICT sector has been steadily increasing on an annual basis. In the previous year, 1,497 companies were registered, and from the beginning of this year until April, 313 companies have been registered.

“In the last five years, the structure of the ICT sector has changed. Statistics show that the IT sector accounts for 84% of the ICT sector. Compared to other sectors, the ICT sector deserves to be a priority economic branch,” said Nada Rakočević, Secretary of the Committee of Information and Communication Technology Associations within the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro. She further highlighted key figures, pointing out a nearly 70% increase in the number of companies and a 44% increase in employment.

The ICT Cortex cluster announced that revenues in the ICT industry reached 602.432.407 million euros last year.

“Net profit increased by over 100% compared to 2019. With the growth of ICT companies, the number of employees also increased by 30% last year compared to 2021,” said Milena Aković from the ICT Cortex cluster.

She emphasized the need to highlight the significance and potential of the IT industry, which should become a strategic sector.

Vladan Tabaš, the CEO of Čikom company and the President of the Board of Directors of ICT Cortex, stated that the IT sector is growing rapidly, but the level of digital transformation in society is not satisfactory.

“IT has advanced to a great extent, but the digital transformation in Montenegro is slow. We are entering the digital world, and perhaps the turning point was the COVID-19 pandemic. The obstacle is our educational system, which does not provide the necessary workforce. We need skilled professionals, and therefore, we appeal for significant changes in Montenegro’s educational system,” said Tabaš.