Empowering Bosnia and Herzegovina’s youth with entrepreneurial skills

© ILO

© ILO

BUDAPEST (ILO News) – Young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina are gaining the skills to transform ideas into successful businesses, thanks to the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Know About Business (KAB) programme, with support from the European Union-funded project "EU4Education and Employment".

The initiative is enhancing entrepreneurship education in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) schools, giving students the confidence to solve problems, think creatively and make business decisions. By building business management skills among youth, the programme aims to prepare the next generation to thrive in the labour market and obtain decent work.

Activities during the outreach tour were centred around the KAB Business Game — a hands-on simulation where students and teachers create “companies,” plan production, respond to market shifts and make collective decisions. From 10 to 14 November 2025, several events in Mostar, Sarajevo, Bihać and Tuzla brought together students, teachers, ministries of education, pedagogical institutes, universities and employers.

The workshop showed us how a simple idea can grow into something meaningful. The most important thing is to think and to take action.

Amera Delić, Student of Secondary School of Economics and Tourism

“I’m really glad that my classmates and I have the opportunity to do something like this in our school and learn about something new,” said Amera Delić, a fourth-year student of Secondary School of Economics and Tourism, adding that the workshops are not only educational but also inspiring as they encourage thinking and creativity. "The workshop showed us how a simple idea can grow into something meaningful. The most important thing is to think and to take action.”

Looking ahead, the ILO and its partners are working to integrate KAB into national curricula, align materials with local education standards, and establish certified facilitator networks. These steps will enable schools across Bosnia and Herzegovina to deliver high quality entrepreneurship education independently.

Put simply, we want to equip our students with the right set of skills and an entrepreneurial mindset to one day run their own business or company, rather than leave Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ahmed Omerović, Minister of Education of Tuzla Canton

“We are introducing the entrepreneurship programme that we are presenting today. It is an interdisciplinary approach aimed at further strengthening students’ knowledge and skills so they can become entrepreneurs. Put simply, we want to equip our students with the right set of skills and an entrepreneurial mindset to one day run their own business or company, rather than leave Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Ahmed Omerović, Minister of Education of Tuzla Canton.

© ILO

© ILO

KAB is an entrepreneurship education programme developed by the ILO for TVET institutions, as well as secondary and higher education, to promote entrepreneurial thinking and skills among young people.