Stevan, a 38-year-old wood-industry worker from Bosnia and Herzegovina, lives near Ljubljana with his family of four. His salary is barely above the minimum wage.
"Life isn't good here anymore, not like it used to be. When I first came 15 years ago, everything was different. The pay wasn't high, but things weren't expensive. Today, the rent for our family of four eats up my entire paycheck."
Between his earnings, his wife's hospitality job, and child benefits for their two children, the family's monthly income totals just over 2,500 euros. "It's not great in Slovenia, but at least there's no saber-rattling, like there is back home in Bosnia. That's why we're here," he adds.
The financial pressures are real, but Stevan and his siblings abroad have managed over the years to pool resources to build a family house in Bosnia and Herzegovina. When he can, he helps his parents by bringing goods from Slovenia. More significantly, he has invested some savings into a small chicken farm that his mother manages, with his parents keeping all the income.
His dream is to expand the farm into a viable business. If that happens, he says, he would return home and employ a few people.
Stevan's story illustrates a broader economic transformation sweeping the Western Balkans. For decades, the region's diaspora has kept their homelands afloat through remittances. Now, that relationship is evolving into something more substantial: direct investment, political influence, and sustainable economic development.
The word "diaspora" derives from Greek, meaning "scattered seed". The "shock therapy" of the post-socialist transition scattered the seeds of numerous Balkan peoples across the Western world, continuing a pattern that began during socialist Yugoslavia when workers were sent abroad - especially to Germany as Gastarbeiter (guest workers) - to address unemployment.
While remittances remain vital, the long-term goal is converting cash flows into concrete investments that could kick-start local economies, reduce unemployment, and provide lasting security.
In many successor states, this economic model persists. Along with goods and services, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo, and Montenegro export their labour force. The diaspora has become a critical economic factor for their homelands, primarily through remittances.
The figures are striking. According to World Bank data, Kosovo leads the region with remittances accounting for 17.3% of GDP - some 1.35 billion euros poured into its treasury last year. Bosnia and Herzegovina follows at 10.5% of GDP (around 2.7 billion euros), with Montenegro at 10.9%. Serbia and Albania are considered "moderately dependent" at 8.3% and 6.3% respectively. North Macedonia is least reliant at 3%.
These numbers reveal how deeply citizens depend on money from relatives abroad - a practice that fuels domestic consumption and fills state coffers.
Albania, Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina lead in diaspora investment. Across the region, diaspora money is flowing into real estate for personal use and rental markets, particularly coastal properties in Montenegro and Albania. Albania stands out for major diaspora-led investments in energy and tourism, with the latter experiencing explosive growth as a result. The USAID-backed diaspora programme in Bosnia represents perhaps the best-known investment initiative.
The diaspora's influence extends beyond capital. Their financial success has translated into political power in host countries, which they now leverage through lobbying. Albania and Kosovo boast the region's most powerful lobbies. In the United States, the Albanian American Civic League operates as a significant advocacy group. Meanwhile, the organisation Germin is building a systematic diplomatic framework that includes diaspora voter mobilisation, political participation, and diaspora rights.
This explains why so many regional states have established ministries for diaspora: to coordinate lobbying efforts, support investments, and preserve cultural identity abroad.
The Albanian government launched Connect Albania in partnership with its business community abroad to encourage and facilitate diaspora investments. While comprehensive data on economic impact is unavailable, anecdotal evidence is powerful. Some of Albania and Kosovo's largest companies - the Balfin Group and Mabetex Group among them - were founded by diaspora members and now generate thousands of jobs and significant economic activity.
Beyond large-scale investments, Germin reports a massive diaspora footprint in small business. In Kosovo, an estimated 25% of all small businesses were founded or financed by the diaspora.
The economic paradigm is shifting. Rather than simply sending the fish, relatives from abroad are now teaching their families back home how to fish. Today, the diaspora ranks among the most significant investors in real estate, tourism, and other industries throughout the region. Nostalgia, that inevitable companion to life abroad, now has the power to generate new jobs and elevate the economies of their homelands.