Networking event is today!

For the second year in a row, Restart is organizing a networking event for diaspora and BiH professionals in Sarajevo.

Bringing together Bosnians and Herzegovinians from all over the world with diverse professional backgrounds offers an excellent and unique opportunity to connect organizations and individuals collaborate on ideas, and find new project partners.

Here you can download the catalog presenting speakers and participants.

Agenda

18:30 – 19:00 Participants’ and Media Registration

Participants’ Registration
Media Registration
Media Statements

19:00 – 19:15 Opening Speeches

Edin Forto | Restart Management Board
Peter Duffy | Mission Director of USAID/Bosnia and Herzegovina
Aiša Telalović | Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Video: How we can contribute to BiH’s Economic Development?

19:15 – 20:00 Pitches

20:00 – 20:30 Bisnode Speed Networking

In this part of the program, you can meet up with 15 potential business partners in a short period of time, in the “speed dating” mode. Based on the Bisnode matrix, each participant meets each and has 5 minutes. You can exchange experiences and make a deal with 36% probability.

20:30 – 21:30 Pitches

21:30 – 23:00 – Networking Party

This is an excellent opportunity to connect organizations and individuals from around the world, collaborating on ideas and finding new project partners.

Speakers

Bengt Gustavsson | Softhouse Consulting Sweden AB | CEO

He joined Softhouse Consulting as Regional Manager in 2012 and today serves as its CEO. He brings over two decades of experience leading change and innovation, and building excellent teams to maximize customer satisfaction while maintaining cost-effectiveness.

Previously, Gustavsson worked for Ericsson for nearly 20 years including quality management and business control, development, and human resources management leading to significant growth. Among his numerous achievements, he set up and steered development teams across the globe, managed scaling up development capabilities over 100% within two years, and was responsible for teams of up to 200 employees.

Bengt Gustavsson holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Växjö University in Economics and Business Entrepreneurship and has completed the GEM-ILF Executive Education for Senior Management at the Stockholm School of Economics.

Contact: bengt.gustavsson@softhouse.se

Softhouse Invest

Softhouse Invest is an alternative investments firm focused on software. When building its portfolio, Softhouse Invest looks for sound business ideas, combined with technical relevance.

To become part of its portfolio, the product or offering must be SW-centered.

Softhouse Invest currently has a portfolio of companies in Sweden and Eastern Europe, ranging from start-ups to established companies and is always looking for new opportunities. Its strength is in its broad expertise in SW strategies, craftsmanship, and methodology.

Softhouse Invest takes an active role in the development of its portfolio of companies through its expertise and participation in project execution as well as an engaged board willing to help.

Sanjin Arifagic | Chief of Party | Diaspora Invest

Sanjin Arifagić heads the USAID ‘Harnessing BiH Diaspora for Economic Development (Diaspora Invest)’ project. He manages the project’s activities on leveraging diaspora’s input into policy-making, provides technical assistance and grants to diaspora investors, and works to enable sustainable local platforms to connect diaspora investors and local businesses. Before joining USAID, Mr. Arifagic was the SEE 2020 Coordinator at the Regional Cooperation Council and led efforts to develop and implement economic cooperation projects between RCC’s 13 SEE participating governments.

Previously, he managed a boutique investment bank in the SEE region, worked as a business development officer and project manager at the IFC/The World Bank group, and consulted for IBM Management Consulting Services and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has demonstrated experience in the public and private sector throughout South East Europe with experience in economic development, privatization, restructuring, corporate governance, and financial advising.

USAID Diaspora Invest

“Harnessing Bosnia and Herzegovina Diaspora for Economic Development Activity” (Diaspora Invest), is a five-year, $5.2 Million project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It started in April 2017 and will be implemented until April 2022 in collaboration with local partner organizations Naša Perspektiva and Restart.

USAID Diaspora Invest will be directly assisting prospective and established diaspora investors through technical assistance and grant programs designed to help set up and grow their business in the country. The project will support the creation of a Diaspora Business Center as a one-stop shop for diaspora investors and will set up an online matchmaking platform to facilitate linkages between diaspora investors and local investment projects.

The first cycle of the USAID Diaspora Invest grant program will be launched in late August 2017 through a public call to diaspora investors to apply with their projects for co-funding. Eligibility criteria and application process details will be available at www.diasporainvest.ba. Technical assistance will be made available to all successful grant beneficiaries.

Admir Tuzović | CTO | App Impact

Category: Professionals Interested in Connecting with other Professionals

With 24 years of experience in application development, Admir Tuzović is a regionally recognized software development expert. As one of App Impact’s founders, he is responsible for the selection and adoption of new technology stacks used by internal development teams. He is a frequent speaker at the largest technical conferences in the region including TedXIBU. During his professional career, Admir has taken on different technical leadership roles including at the World Bank and Microsoft. He has been awarded the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for Microsoft Azure award for his continuous contribution and expertise. Admir is a published Pluralsight author, a Microsoft Certified Professional, and holds a B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering.

Admir is a published Pluralsight author, a Microsoft Certified Professional, and holds a B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering.

Contact: admir.tuzovic@appimpact.ba

App Impact

Business Sector: Information Technology (IT); Research Development; Software | Computers

App Impact is a software development company founded in September 2016. The leadership team consists of certified solution architects and experienced business professionals. Within the first 9 months, the company has grown to 7 employees and is experiencing continuous and steady growth with more staff expected to join by the end of the first year. App Impact’s primary business is software development, including web and mobile, cloud computing, internet of things and data science. They provide custom development services from planning to implementation phases. As the company’s biggest client is BiH’s Public Procurement Agency, they have developed an electronic procurement management system currently used by every public and government institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina with tens of thousands of suppliers. They have also created their own product, Event Management System, used by BiH’s three largest IT conferences – Microsoft NetWork, Bosnia Agile Day, and MSCommunity BiH Conference.

App Impact is keen on connecting with business professionals to partner up with on two aspects – business development and product sales. Their goal for their second year is to expand to foreign markets for which they need partners who can locate and engage with potential customers and lead successful contract negotiations. As App Impact’s product (Event Management System) is fully mature, they are interested in finding sales representatives that can help promote it further and increase the return on investment. They are currently interested in provision based partnerships, which could lead to full-time employment in the future. Finally, App Impact is open to serious investments that would help accelerate growth and reach targets faster.

Projects that are looking for Investors

Muhamed Tabaković | Founder | RibarstvoSlap d.o.o

Business Sector: Agriculture/Fishery

The founder and sole owner of the company is 37-year old Muhamed Tabaković from Žepa. With several years of experience in commercial business, he started the company in order to renew the pre-war trout production of Lake Perućac with a vision to ensure a prosperous future for himself and 30 employees. RibarstvoSlap d.o.o. produces 1,200 tons of table fish per year.

There are two products: rainbow trout and brown trout. The company currently possesses 120 cages, 26 concrete ponds, its own hatchery with 32 ponds for juvenile fish production, and the accompanying facilities to accommodate for feedstock and office space. They utilize modern equipment for automatic fish cleaning and have accompanying coolers for storing fresh and frozen fish in accordance with EU requirements and directives, with the aim of exporting fish to the EU market and beyond.

The placement of table fish is ensured through the network of key customers which include supermarket chains such as Konzum, Brojler, Amko Komerc, and Bingo as well as many others in the domestic market. In September 2014, they registered an international affiliate, Slap GmbH, in Austria, and signed a contract with Metro, the largest supermarket chain in the EU. Currently, Slap exports fish to Slovenia, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany and Switzerland, and other countries that have expressed interest and demand including France, Albania, Romania and Russia.

Rešad Začina | Co-Founder | Ministry of Programming

As cofounder and CEO of the Ministry of Programming, Rešad Začina is focused on innovation (startups and new products) and building the best place to work for software engineers. He brings expertise in startups having been part of 3 of the top 50 digital startups in Europe for 2016. He has assembled a team of 50 experts in Startup execution and developed over a dozen startups, including FinTech (Swipestox) and Healthcare (Werlabs). Highly adaptable, he has lived in three different countries and been educated in Italian, Bosnian and English.

Business Sector: IT Sector / Services

Ministry of Programming creates world class StartUps and has developed search engines, social networks, trading systems and disease detection software thanks to its great team of professionals. Their vision is to create a global technology startup that will bring massive and positive socio-economic change to society. Their goal is to become an authority in the region for building startups and the best place to work in the region.

Their products include:
• SwipeStox, a revolutionary approach to social trading by simply swiping through the trades other traders have created, making trading accessible and fun.
• Werlabs, the leader in the Scandinavian market in health analysis through blood tests delivered directly to individuals.
• WarOnCancer, a free global storytelling platform for anyone and their loved ones who are fighting or have fought cancer.

Damir Faruk Saračević | IT College

Damir Faruk Saračević has most recently served as CMO of Mistral Technologies, one of BiH’s biggest IT companies. Mistral Technologies is a modern, structured, mid-size company that employs over a hundred people. Initially, he served as HR Director and led the process of growth designing hiring procedures, employee review processes, and career path plans. As CMO, he has worked on popularizing and positioning BIT Alliance that is now a leading IT organisation in BiH.

He has also fostered a relationship with the local government and helped to develop an IT Strategy for Sarajevo that aims to improve and boost the IT sector and further youth employment in the Canton. Previously, he worked for UNDP and the OSCE in the field with locals and returnees in BiH, a topic he feels strongly about. His career started as a cameraman for the National Television of BiH in Sarajevo and he holds a B.A. in International Affairs from Georgia State University.

Sarajevo IT College

Business Sector: Diversified Education / Training; Information Technology (IT)

Studies show that the IT sector needs 12,000 developers by 2025. Currently, there is huge demand for IT education and software developers by companies in BiH and beyond. However, the current educational system does not produce nearly enough to meet demand. Based on a previous pilot experience utilizing IT education, the Mistral IT school, the Sarajevo IT College would provide a regional solution to meet current and future needs of IT, representing one of the most successful and profitable sectors in the country. The project is currently seeking an angel investor to get the project off the ground. The initial investment sought is 70,000 EUR.

Armin Maglić | Social Entrepreneur | Igraj Uči Rasti d.o.o.

Armin Maglić is a social entrepreneur, youth worker, and project manager. He co-founded Play Learn Grow (Igraj Uči Rasti), an innovative start-up offering educational games and tools to build children’s core skills. He brings over a decade of experience working for a variety of organizations and experience in development, small grants, mentoring, advising, program implementation and coordination.

Contact: armin@igrajucirasti.ba

Igraj Uči Rasti d.o.o.

Business Sector: Diversified Education/Training

Igraj Uči Rasti (Play Learn Grow) is a socially minded business established in BiH in 2016. They design and produce educational toys to build core skills in preschool and school-age children. The company’s purpose is to preserve the value of real life relationships and ensure healthy early childhood development. Technology, such as tablets and video games, greatly impact healthy early childhood development and can lead to poor cognitive and social development. Igraj Uči Rasti aims to reintroduce traditional educational games and toys in early childhood and to reinforce key cognitive and social development aspects.

They have developed a card game for children ages 3 to 9. This particular game is designed to develop five cognitive abilities including language and communication, motor abilities, critical thinking, social and emotional intelligence, imagination, and creativity. Our customers are parents, pre- and elementary school teachers and schools, while our beneficiaries are children up to age 9 and their families.

Marin Bevanda | Amplius Electronics d.o.o.

Marin Bevanda began his career in 2014 as a graphic designer for Gama AB in Mostar. Though only 19 years old, he founded Amplius Electronics in 2015. Together with his friends Luka Vučina and Robert Rozić, he won an award at the SPARK Business Park Demo Day. He has launched a fundraising campaign on Indiegogo.

Amplius Electronics d.o.o.

Business Sector: IT sector/Electronics

Amplius Electronics d.o.o. is a young startup from Mostar, BiH. The team consists of young, ambitious people who are focused on solutions. Currently, they are working on a project called Rubico, a smart keychain produced to help today’s smartphone and tablet users. Amplius Rubico smart keychains ensure you will never find yourself in a situation holding a drained or “out-of-memory” mobile phone. The app allows users to capture moments directly to their favorite keychain if they run out of space. Rubico’s small size ensures it fits in your pocket easily, but still provides the extra power necessary. It allows up to 50% of a phone’s battery to be charged. In the near future, Amplius Electronics will research and develop more products. They are primarily looking for investors and supporters that can help them fund the crowdfunding campaign and realize their potential in the future. There is less than one month left and they have reached 40% of their goal.

Companies from BiH Looking for Clients

Iskra Leko | Association of Architects in Bosnia and Herzegovina (AABH)

AABH HUB – outsourcing AEC Industry Architecture

The recently established AABH has resulted from a previous Association of Architects of BiH – SABIH, founded in Sarajevo during the 1950s. Its objectives include supporting professional training and education for architects, students of architecture as well as architecture aficionados. This includes workshops, courses, and seminars with international and local partner organizations. We are particularly interested in providing training opportunities in the use of BIM and Revit in public works and architecture. The association wants to open a AABH HUB in Sarajevo and two more locations in BiH. It is imagined as a co-working space for small architecture, engineering, and construction companies in BiH who can in turn pool their resources and knowledge. We envision this will increase the competitiveness of these firms by gathering creative young professionals together to work and innovate both in BiH and beyond.

Omar Mušić | Halilović d.o.o.

Business Sector: Agriculture/Pharma

Halilović is a private company established in Ilijaš near Sarajevo in 1983 that focuses on producing organic agriculture, medicinal and aromatic plants, high quality essential oils, grains, and vegetables. The company has 150 hectares of processing facilities and plantations on the Nišići plateau, 1000m above sea level. The company’s mission, in line with their slogan ‘From Nature to You,’ is to promote a healthy lifestyle and preserve the environment through organic agricultural production. Clients include essential oil traders and retail distributors and pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies in the EU and US focused on producing natural medicines, healthcare and cosmetics products. They are looking forward to meet potential clients and individuals who can consult with us about growth opportunities to explore new markets around the world.

Hanna Cerić

Business Analyst | SEEBA d.o.o.

Hanna Cerić joined SEEBA in 2016 and has since worked as Social Media Manager and Business Analyst. She is responsible for conducting marketing activities, sales support and consulting clients. Hanna works with and supports both domestic and foreign clients from the SEEBA Sarajevo office. Hanna holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Södertörns högskola (Stockholm) in Political Science and is currently completing a Master’s Degree in Diplomacy at the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology.

Contact: hanna.ceric@seeba.se

Digital Business Space

Business Sector: Business Products / Services

Digital Business Space (DBS) is an open digital office space in the heart of Sarajevo, providing the ideal business environment. The dynamic office space is fully equipped with technologies required to connect to the digital business world with full flexibility. Digital Business Space provides a business lounge and a fully furnished and work-ready virtual office office with comfortable, professional modern amenities ready to support all businesses. DBS provides a registred office address, meeting/video rooms, photocopying, scanning and printing facilities, a desk as and when required, and relevant mail services. Its Digital Showcase presents the latest cloud tech innovations and provides inspiration for how to use today’s digital tools. To enable and empower businesses, the SME Up-Skilling Center offers seminars, 1-1 coaching sessions and mentorships, business model innovation boot-camps, networking event, digital innovation missions, and more for local and international small and medium-sized enterprises.

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SEEBA is the founder of Digital Business Space and has composed this concept in cooperation with WhiteOak Group and Telemach.

Restart Networking Event 2016 Results

Last year, Restart’s networking event gathered over 160 participants. 40% of attendees were members of our diaspora, while the other 60% came from the business sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Participants acquired more than 120 potential contacts for business collaboration opportunities.

95% percent of last year’s guests found the event to be “extremely useful” or “pretty useful.” 69% of last year’s participants rated the event “excellent” or “very good” while 18.2% of them rated the event “good” – a great success for our inaugural event!

The attendees outlined the following parts of the event as the most useful:

Networking, including acquiring many new contacts and fellow participants’ willingness to connect with others
A wide range of Attendees
Success Stories
Speaker’s Presentations