Serbia’s service sector generates more than two-thirds of national value added, with technology exports providing a major source of foreign revenue and a growing range of non-digital businesses developing around manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, communications and regulation.
- ICT remains the largest export segment
- Non-digital services expand around industrial and consumer markets
- Acquisition financing is supporting service-sector expansion
- Acquisition strategies differ across service industries
- Serbia’s R&D spending remains below 1% of GDP
- Automotive and biotechnology provide R&D platforms
- Regional expansion broadens the consolidation market
In the first 11 months of 2025, Serbia exported €13.6 billion of services and imported €11.7 billion, maintaining a services surplus. ICT and other business services generated the largest export contribution, with the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom among the principal destinations. The sector includes large international technology operations alongside domestic companies in IT, healthcare, logistics, telecommunications, tourism and specialist business services.
ICT remains the largest export segment
Serbia’s ICT services exports reached €4.55 billion in 2025, an increase of 10%, producing a €3.53 billion surplus. The country’s technology ecosystem includes development and engineering operations of Microsoft, Schneider Electric, Continental, Rivian, NCR Voyix, EPAM and Ubisoft, alongside domestic companies such as HTEC, Vega IT and Nordeus and hundreds of smaller software-development and outsourcing businesses.
The sector benefits from Serbia’s engineering workforce, proximity to European time zones, English-language capabilities and operating costs below those of western European technology centres. A significant portion of the industry remains based on selling engineering and development capacity, while companies with proprietary products and recurring technology revenues represent a different business model.
Non-digital services expand around industrial and consumer markets
Serbia’s service economy extends well beyond ICT. Nelt and Milšped provide regional logistics and distribution capabilities, while Telekom Srbija, Yettel and A1 operate major communications businesses. Air Serbia and the Belgrade hotel market support tourism and business travel. In private healthcare, MediGroup and Acibadem Bel Medic represent established institutional networks.
Accounting, engineering, testing, maintenance, laboratory and environmental services are also developing around industrial activity and regulatory requirements. These businesses can depend on licences, physical assets and established local networks in addition to labour. The range of service companies creates a market in which businesses can expand by acquiring complementary operations, adding technology and extending their geographical reach.
Acquisition financing is supporting service-sector expansion
The fragmentation of Serbia’s service market has created opportunities for consolidation. The EBRD has committed a €60 million package for HTEC, explicitly supporting acquisition-led expansion. The Serbian healthcare market has also attracted international strategic investment. Blue Sea Capital sold MediGroup Serbia to Finland’s Mehiläinen, demonstrating the potential for a Serbian healthcare platform to attract a foreign strategic buyer.
The investment rationale in these transactions extends beyond domestic demand. Scalable management structures, operating systems and opportunities for regional expansion can increase the value of established service platforms. Potential consolidation areas include IT and engineering services, logistics and distribution, private healthcare and diagnostics, payments, renewable-energy services, hotels and specialised business services.
Acquisition strategies differ across service industries
Technology buyers typically seek development teams, established customer relationships and intellectual property. Healthcare investors focus on clinic locations, medical professionals and procurement scale. Logistics transactions can centre on warehouses, transport routes and customs capabilities, while energy-service businesses can offer combinations of permits, engineering expertise and recurring contracts.
Valuation and integration remain important considerations. Founder-owned companies can report strong profitability while relying heavily on individual owners, concentrated customer relationships or deferred investment. In outsourcing businesses, the departure of senior engineers can materially affect the acquired operation. Healthcare and logistics companies may require substantial capital expenditure and operate under regulatory constraints. Consolidators therefore need to combine centralised finance, procurement and technology systems with the local relationships responsible for existing revenues.
Serbia’s R&D spending remains below 1% of GDP
Serbia allocated RSD90.6 billion to research and development in 2024, equal to 0.94% of GDP. Businesses financed RSD41.7 billion, or approximately 46% of total R&D spending. The country employed 30,810 people in R&D, including 19,323 researchers, across 487 organisations. Almost two-thirds of those organisations were businesses. The research infrastructure therefore includes a substantial business component, although overall expenditure remains below the level associated with a broader base of domestically owned products and intellectual property.
Automotive and biotechnology provide R&D platforms
Several existing industrial and technology clusters provide potential links between research and commercial applications. Continental employs a large engineering workforce in Serbia, while Rivian operates a technology hub in Belgrade. Automotive suppliers are developing capabilities in embedded systems and power electronics. The planned BIO4 campus is intended to connect universities, hospitals and companies in biotechnology. Other areas including gaming, artificial intelligence, agricultural technology and industrial software draw on Serbia’s mathematical and engineering education base.
The expansion of research activity can also be linked to acquisitions. Services groups with recurring cash flow can acquire specialist product companies, foreign strategic investors can establish development mandates following acquisitions of Serbian technology teams, and healthcare operators can combine clinical data capabilities with diagnostics. Research incentives need to distinguish commercial product development from routine engineering activity through measures such as patents, product revenue and company collaboration.
Regional expansion broadens the consolidation market
Serbian service companies can continue to establish delivery centres in Belgrade and Novi Sad, while rising wages and competition for senior employees reduce the cost advantage of purely labour-based expansion. Acquisitions provide access to established teams, customers and compliance capabilities. Other Serbian cities, including Niš, Kragujevac, Čačak and Subotica, expand the potential talent base.
Regional buy-and-build strategies can also connect Serbian companies with businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Montenegro. The strongest platforms increasingly combine recurring domestic demand, exportable expertise and proprietary technology. Examples include logistics companies with supply-chain software, healthcare groups combining clinical networks with diagnostics, and engineering businesses developing embedded products. Serbia’s existing service sector provides a substantial revenue base, while the next stage of corporate development is increasingly centred on consolidation, regional expansion and the development of intellectual property.
