Alena Ahmetspahic Foco, Project Manager and Editor-in-Chief of Poslovne Novine – Where politics fail, business people join forces

Alena Ahmetspahic Foco has been leading her successful career in the world of media and journalism for over 30 years. She got her first experiences in the formerly leading dailies, Oslobodjenje and Vecernje Novine, and her work at Poslovne Novine began in 1994. She is among the rare journalists who have been following the economy and have been faithful to a media house for so long.

Poslovne Novine are synonymous with connecting successful business people. The publication was launched in Bosnia and Herzegovina 49 years ago. Following the trends, paying attention to the needs of business people, using digital forms of communication, but also not neglecting printed editions, the publication placed focus on economic analyses and the project of ranking successful companies. All this is implemented through traditional projects dedicated to ranking the 100 biggest fast-growing companies with a reliable credit rating.

We talked with Alena Ahmetspahic Foco, who runs all these projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, about professional challenges and being a journalist.

eKapija: Next year, Poslovne Novine celebrates the 50th anniversary. For decades, you have been the recognizable face of this medium, as well as of the project of the selection of the 100 biggest in BiH. When you look back on it, how would you describe this inter-relationship, how much has your career changed you and how much have you influenced the directions of the development of this project, which is now already a regional project?

– I am glad that, since the beginning of my career, I have remained faithful to the editorial staff where I got my first full employment. Through years of experience and work, education has been part of the professional development, especially the education through European, but also American programs. Although as a young journalist I took this for granted, I now see that numerous colleagues from the media did not have and do not have such possibilities. However, that is precisely what is necessary for professional development. Certainly, my persistence, perseverance and consistency have influenced the directions of what is now, as you’ve said, a regional project.

eKapija: What motivates you and gives you strength to do your job at the same level of energy today as in the past years?

– It could be said that I am simply the type of a person that enjoys the dynamics of the job. I am convinced that what we are doing as a team contributes to the clients and the business community. It is good to know that many successful business people have recognized this and that they want to take part in the projects we’re doing. I have cooperated with many of them for a long number of years. Many of them have become recognizable through our campaigns and, together, we have raised everything to a higher level. What’s interesting in my work and what motivates me is that we have been adapting to market trends for years and that we are constantly developing, offering something new to the clients all the time, while at the same time fostering the old values.

We used to be a printed magazine only, and then we stepped into the world of digital channels, increased our profile and became one of the leaders when it comes to the organization of business conferences, connecting businesses and successful managers and company owners and business lobbying. We expanded to the markets outside Bosnia and Herzegovina, became part of LRC Group, strengthened the “100 Biggest” brand and developed another two projects, which we have turned into separate brands. These are the projects “The Fastest Growing Companies in BiH and the Region” and “Reliability”, which promotes and gathers companies with a reliable credit rating.

eKapija: Last year, during the struggle with the coronavirus on all fronts, you placed focus on networking and promotion, which companies recognized as a multiple benefit.

– Exactly! In early 2020, when it seemed that everything stopped for a moment due to the coronavirus pandemic and the sudden closing of the borders of numerous countries, we realized that we needed to move forward, that the economy couldn’t and mustn’t stop. We launched an all-encompassing campaign and regional online connecting through conferences that numerous business people from the region responded to, who presented their experiences and gave suggestions as to how to move forward. We included representatives of institutions, representatives of the Western Balkans Chamber Investment Forum and so on, in our panels.

The authorities in the world of business gave guidelines that it is necessary to synchronize, as soon as possible, the production with the demands of the market. We sent a message that the Western Balkans needs to strengthen the dialogue and the removal of economic barriers, that we needed to promote regional cooperation as the main mechanism for a better future. In order for the Western Balkans to be competitive with foreign markets, there mustn’t be any barriers between us. It is with that goal that we promote the best companies, so as to express the joint potentials.

eKapija: You have also announced the new project “The Regional Prosperity Book”. What is behind this idea and what is its goal?

– The story of the “The Regional Prosperity Book” began a year before the coronavirus pandemic. As our projects had long before crossed the borders of our country and become regional projects, it was time to make an all-encompassing project which would contribute to removing the obstacles to regional economic cooperation and work on ensuring a sustainable economic development in the context of the accession to the European Union and the improvement of the business and investment climate. This project primarily offers to companies those activities in which they recognize their benefit.

Through the liberalization of free trade, the European Union became the largest single market in the world. While the EU is actively cooperating in the negotiations about trade agreements, securing the best possible position in the market for their companies and the possibility to expand their operations in the countries of the region easily, the whole single market idea is still a big challenge.

The countries of the region cannot be competitive in the European and global market scene without a single market, and overcoming challenges such as an unobstructed flow of people, goods and services is becoming the key factor in fighting for an economic recovery of the region.

That is why we are actively working on the project goals of “The Regional Prosperity Book”, which will encompass 350,000 companies from the Western Balkans. Those companies that participate in this project and recognize the importance of the cooperation and business partnerships will have direct benefit. We will focus on the most successful ones, those who are solvent, good business partners, business people with a vision, whose voice reaches the governing structures. Now that it is already known that all the parameters of the economies in all countries dropped in 2020, when it is known that direct foreign investments have also gone through a drastic fall on the global level, it is time to rely on each other. The campaign about successful operations of local and regional companies comes at the right time, the time when we need to rely on each other, on the regional market which has over 350,000 companies. Through our project, we will provide guidelines about who to do business with and how and present to the public and the business world the relevant data of the economies of the region.

The focus will be on presenting the common interests of the business community of the region. A change in the business model and the structure of the national economies is an inevitable consequence of that process.

eKapija: Where do you see the future of the region in the economic development, cooperation and realizing a common economic space in order to strengthen the capacities?

– Where politics fail, business people join forces. We depend on each other economically and cooperation is a question of survival of us all. We also offer this partnership through our projects, helping companies connect as well as possible through our Center for Strategic Lobbying and media channels of communication.

The fact is that, in the five decades of our existence, through our media campaigns, conferences and B2B meetings, we have connected a large number of successful business people. We can safely call ourselves lobbyists, not just among business people, but also between business people and economic institutions, chambers of commerce and the competent ministries, even banks and investors. The business people who have recognized this have been using our resources for a long time and the platform of LRC group at full capacity in order to make sales plans and short-term and long-term financial goal plans.

eKapija: Is it sometimes demanding and challenging to balance between the desires of the clients and the business policy? Do you have a formula for a successful solving of dissatisfaction or excessive demands?

– I have the privilege of working with around 250 to 300 very successful clients from various industries, through various projects, each year. My task is to hold all the strings in my hands, to run the operating jobs related to various services we offer them and it is truly challenging to balance between the desires of the clients and the business policy. Some clients are more demanding, some less, some know exactly what they want, to others we provide consulting in their promotion and promotion of their businesses. Due to the dynamics of the obligations and the different needs of the clients, you sometimes need to be ready to make risky moves in order for everything to be balanced. There is no recipe for a successful solving of the dissatisfaction or excessive demands of the clients. I’d rather say that I have certain characteristics and years of experience, which makes it easier for me to quickly correct the potential mistakes in the best way possible, to the end of mutual satisfaction and benefit. The clients’ excessive demands are in fact a challenge for us to develop our capabilities and offer something more and different.

eKapija: When a young journalist comes to you, what is the first piece of advice that you give them about how to do their job successfully?

– In the past years, I have worked a lot with young colleagues. I have strived to teach them about the job that some of them were not too interested in, but they finally recognized its values. I’ve always tried to create a strong team with which we will expand and improve our business and we have realized top-quality projects together. There have been plenty of young colleagues who couldn’t withstand the tempo of the business operations and the obligations that are imposed by the dynamics of the development. I am proud of those who were ready to study and learn. I am also proud of those who went on to do other jobs, where they got good positions based on the experiences they acquired here, or who started their own businesses. The fact is that young people today want quick results and are not that dedicated to practical learning, which is extremely important. At their studies, they can’t experience practical work to the extent that they need in order to develop professionally. As a part of our team, they all had the possibility to communicate directly with the most successful business people and the strongest players in business. For that reason, I would advise my young colleagues to have more patience and consistency in what they do, while striving to make as few mistakes in their work as possible and to learn from authorities.

eKapija: After so many years of work in the business sphere, published interviews, constant contacts with successful business people, have you detected some common characteristics among them and what would those be?

– I believe that what we have in common is persistence and the desire to be successful at what we do.

eKapija: Which successes achieved so far are you the proudest of?

– I believe that it is the fact that we have raised our projects to a regional level and entered the markets outside BiH.

Senka Trivic

Poslovne novine

LRC Group

Alena Ahmetspahić Fočo

100 Biggest

connecting business people

diary of success

special edition newsletter

eKapija