Mentoring Forum 2025 brought together institutions, mentors and company owners from Serbia and the region

Belgrade, November 24 - The Development Agency of Serbia organized Mentoring Forum 2025 which this year brought together representatives of institutions - ministries, agencies and mentors from Serbia, Montenegro, Republika Srpska, North Macedonia, as well as representatives of companies - users of mentoring and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).The focus of this year's Forum was on the importance of mentoring, as one of the most important forms of non-financial support to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, from the point of view of users - companies, as well as the possibilities of further improvement of this service in Serbia and the region.The participants were addressed by: Nikola Janković, director of the International Cooperation Sector of the Development Agency of Serbia, Marko Zelić, assistant minister of economy in the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Jamašita Čigiru, head of the office of the Japanese Agency for International Cooperation for the Balkans (JICA) and Funabashi Gaku, JICA expert. Moderator of the first panel "Standardized mentoring service in practice in Serbia - the voice of the user and the path to quality", Ana Žegarac, project manager at the Development Agency of Serbia, emphasized the importance of the opinions of companies that went through the mentoring program. She emphasized that the user experience most clearly shows how much continuous professional and advisory support can contribute to the improvement of business.Business owners from Serbia who used the free mentoring service - Aleksandra Pavlović from "VARJAČA I ŠERPA", Jelena Ivović from "NECTAR LINE" and Mladen Babić from "ELKO EP BALKAN" talked about their first steps in business, diagnosing problems together with their mentors, satisfied with the service and concrete results in improving business, increasing sales and profits as well as acquired knowledge.On the second panel "We grow together - the power of standardized mentoring services in the Western Balkans" mentors and company owners from the region presented their mentoring case studies. Mentor Jovan Stoimenovski and Ivica Stanojevski and Marko Mitovski, owners of "KALIN KAMEN" from North Macedonia; Ivan Babić mentor and Dejan Ćutković, owner of "IVATEX s.p." from Republika Srpska; Mentor Ivana Tomašević and Ksenija Planić and Aleksandra Bošković Delagić, owners of "BRANCA" from Montenegro and members of the Urošević family, owners of the family business "DURALINE" from Serbia with their mentor Milica Čukarić, had the opportunity to present in detail how and to what extent the mentoring process had a positive impact on their business. 5,000 micro, small and medium enterprises.At the end of the Forum, a certificate awarding ceremony was held for new mentors, trainers and on-the-job training instructors from Serbia, which further strengthened the network of experts who provide support for the development of Serbian enterprises as well as the establishment and strengthening of standardized mentoring in partner institutions from BiH, North Macedonia and Montenegro. In the closing speeches of Ana Žegarac and Shinichir Kato, JICA experts for SMEs, the importance of long-term commitment to the development of the mentoring program and its role in strengthening entrepreneurship in the region was highlighted.