National Digital Transformation: A Conversation With Serbia’s Prime Minister Ana Brnabic
We can learn a lot from small countries where big things happen. Ireland attracts some of the world’s largest corporations via far more than just low corporate taxes. New Zealand’s KEA (Kiwi Expat Association) mobilizes their diaspora better than anyone. Estonia boasts the world’s highest per capita of tech unicorns— six for a population of 1.3 million.
Upstaging everyone, the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan— population 760,000—vaccinated 93% of their adult population against Covid-19 in two weeks. Having visited three times with one of my portfolio companies, www.abroad.io, I’m familiar with the challenge this presented, as well as the spirit and commitment that enabled their accomplishment.
Recently, I’ve become interested in the case of Serbia. Through the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, the country experienced regional war, human rights issues, international sanctions, economic mismanagement and significant damage to infrastructure. Slowly emerging from these challenges, the country’s GDP in 2015 was 27.5% below its level in 1989.