Known as "coworking spaces," hubs provide flexibility, social interaction, and networking opportunities alongside physical workspaces, especially for freelancers and startup companies.
Kosta Andrić, the executive director of ICT Hub, says in an interview with Biznis.rs that their hubs are mainly occupied by digital economy players who see networking opportunities in such places.
“In the hub, we have various types of users, from innovative companies in the early stages of development to teams from large corporations developing some innovative product, and even investors over the past year. In this context, a small ecosystem of digital economy participants is created,” he says.
Andrić adds that, besides networking, their users value the hubs for the regular consultations available, whether related to accounting issues or other matters.
“In addition to sitting next to someone who is an investor or a corporation that might be a buyer of your products, we regularly organize visits from various experts and mentors, both domestic and international,” he explains.
Milena Čolaković, head of operations and sales at Impact Hub Belgrade, emphasizes that the most common reason someone chooses to work from a hub, besides networking, is “significant cost savings compared to renting traditional office space.”
“There are some standard services that users expect and that are more or less characteristic of most hub offerings – fast and reliable internet, air conditioning, meeting rooms, kitchen, printer, scanner... What I would particularly highlight when it comes to Impact Hub are the additional benefits our users receive, as they are not only locally applicable but also globally: the Impact Hub Global Passport allows them to use other Impact Hub spaces globally; access to events organized by Impact Hub for its community, such as pitching gym, networking events, and Western Balkan Demo-Days; tailored-curated connections with entrepreneurs, designers, remote employees, companies, and businesses from the Impact Hub global network; one-on-one and group mentoring sessions; access to local and international acceleration services, such as the Ona Zna project, ClimAccelerator, and the Payoneer powered online platform,” Čolaković highlights in an interview with Biznis.rs.
Individuals are the least frequent visitors to hubs; it’s mostly development teams, whether from startups or employees of a corporation. What they all have in common is seeking a "supportive environment" for their work. Additionally, more and more small companies are choosing to work from hubs instead of renting traditional office space.
“Many employers opt for our services because of the flexibility, lower costs, and additional benefits we offer, such as space maintenance, availability of all necessary resources, and the ability to quickly scale the space according to their needs. Our hub, in addition to the classic coworking space, also offers several offices that are ideal for smaller teams who want to be separate during work but still part of a larger community they can connect with daily,” Čolaković points out.
Speaking about the future of this market, our interviewees agree – it will continue to grow.
“With the increase in remote work and hybrid work models in companies, we can expect coworking services to inevitably adapt to the specific needs of different industries and targeted clients' businesses. We are witnessing that coworking spaces without a community gathering space, for connecting or organizing events, and that do not contribute to new ideas in society, will find it increasingly difficult to operate due to the new way of working that has become prevalent after the COVID epidemic,” Milena Čolaković emphasizes.
Kosta Andrić notes that in the future, there will be increasing demand for the co-living concept, which means that besides working in a space, “you can also do all other things – sleep and recreate nearby, ideally with a bank close by.”
“It’s a new, broader concept that involves living space along with shared work,” Andrić concludes.
