Montenegro's micro-business landscape challenges EU AI integration plans

Montenegro’s business register lists more than 63,000 active entities, the overwhelming majority of which are micro-enterprises. Research by the European Investment Bank indicates that AI can lift labour productivity by about four per cent, but the benefits accrue mainly to medium-sized and large firms that also invest in software, data and training—resources that micro firms struggle to obtain. Digitalisation programmes in 2022 supported a few hundred SMEs, yet awareness among the broader business community was low.

The country has launched the MontEDIH European Digital Innovation Hub to provide pre-investment advice, testing, and financial guidance, but it must publish detailed usage data to assess effectiveness. EU pre-accession assistance is also being structured to create a national agency for MSMEs, though half of the planned work remains unfinished. Policymakers argue that measuring micro-firm participation and long-term adoption is essential to ensure AI support narrows, rather than widens, the productivity gap as Montenegro moves toward EU accession.