Skopje, 23 November 2023

“The National Bank especially appreciates, values and supports initiatives that underpin stronger involvement of young people in the overall society. Blending finance and expertise are important in spurring youth in business, unleashing their potential and the potential of the economy as a whole“, the Vice Governor of the National Bank, Ana Mitreska said at the event organized by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, at which market assessment findings conducted within the EBRD Youth in Business Programme were presented.

Speaking about the requirements of young people and the actual state of the labor market, Vice Governor Mitreska emphasized that unemployment among young people in Europe has decreased in the last decade, from 20% to 11%, while in the Macedonian economy the rate is also decreasing, but it is still significantly higher than that in the EU and equals 25%. She said that according to the soft survey data reveal (EC/OECD Survey 2021) 45% of the young people plan to become entrepreneurs after graduating, preferring being self-employed. However, only 5% of young people are actively working on start-ups, while according to hard data only 6% of young people in EU are self-employed. She said: “The researches indicate that young people face with various challenges in the access to finance, because very often, the new businesses, including those of young people remain outside the perimeter of the traditional banking finance, due to the lack of credit history, lack of collateral, high transactional costs and absence of tailor-made financial instrument.“ In the address, it was indicated that investment is also needed in support for developing business and increasing the knowledge and skills of young people, as well as improving access to markets, institutional support structures and legal aspects, which are also particularly important for the business autonomy of young people.

“Our role as a society, is to bridge the gap between preferences and possibilities of the young entrepreneurship. For this purpose, financial literacy is of special interest to the National Bank, because access to finance for younger people requires a higher level of financial literacy, as a basis for stronger financial inclusion", added Mitreska, clarifying that with the massive penetration of digital technology in the world of finance, not only conventional financial literacy is what matters, but digital, as well.