Question

Describe market conditions and the 'state of entrepreneurship' in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

Answer 1

Market conditions od CEE(central and Eastern Europe)

• According to "CEE Investment Report 2018 the CEE market has been the fastest growing region in the EU ever since the latterʼs enlargement in 2004. In H1 2018, its growth rate was 4.2%
• almost EUR 5.8 billion set to be invested in the CEE office market in 2018, investment activity can be regarded as very high. Investors in the region show a high degree of diversity, coming from places such as the United States, Western Europe, Israel, and South Africa. According to commercial real estate market forecasts, 2018ʼs investment volume may exceed EUR 12 bln.
• CEE has become a mature market in economic and legal terms as well, with transaction structures, tax rates and other costs in CEE now comparable to Western standards. This makes investors feel comfortable, as well as secure.
• The CEE real estate market has been one of the most dynamically developing markets across Europe and has enjoyed strong interest from a wide range of developers, investors and occupiers across all sectors.
• Some of the top real estate experts have been discussing the transformation of the market over the last 20 years. And they came to a conclusion that real estate market in Central and Eastern Europe has probably been developing most dynamically throughout Europe over the last 20 years. While the two decades back the market was in its infancy, just embarking on a period of initiation and early stages of development. It is clear that 20 years on the CEE market is highly developed, property development and real estate projects are of the highest international standards and the markets enjoy a high transparency rating.

State of Entrepreneurship CEE (central and Eastern Europe )

• final years of the previous decade the business environment in most of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has changed substantially. The economies of the region have initially stagnated or fallen into recession, experienced FDI contraction and landed in an environment they still struggle with anaemic growth and challenged employment opportunities. What is particularly noteworthy is that although the unemployment rate is in most countries still higher than the pre-crisis period by some percentage points, the actual quality of the available and reduced number of employment opportunities is markedly worse than before the crisis. This implies an employment environment for qualified and talented people which is even worse than the headline employment rate indicates.
• Due to their geographic alignment they have been dubbed the “entrepreneurship corridor” of the CEE where the majority of successful startups of the last few years have sprung up. All three have been particularly successful in technology related start-ups but also in introducing new products and services in the areas of health, life sciences and manufacturing innovation. And have also experienced a notable improvement of the entrepreneurial support ecosystem

• Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) started some 25 years ago. A new technology base triggered the fast growth of new investments into intangible assets by global economic leaders at the beginning of the 1990s, providing the basis for a move towards a knowledge economy. During the past 25 years, entrepreneurs in CEE and the CIS have reshaped traditional industries and created new industries, combining innovative ideas with traditional competencies. Yet we still do not know very much about how and why companies led by entrepreneurs develop, how they expand globally and what the role of new knowledge and innovation is in the internationalization process. Understanding the pathways of entrepreneurial development, especially growth through internationalization, is important for the overall development of countries in transition and beyond.

  Entrepreneurship in Central and Eastern Europe: Development through Internationalization provides an overview of entrepreneurship in a range of important emerging markets. This book aims to fill the gap in the literature by providing up-to-date data and case-based evidence.